Where has the old tradition gone?

After coaching cross country and/or track and field for 20 years at Butler High School, here is my view of Butler athletics from an insider's perspective.

Along with myself, I had seven brothers and sisters play sports at Butler. It was a privilege to be on a team. You had to try out and work hard just to make a team.

Walk into Mt. Lebanon or North Allegheny high schools and you'll see more than 100 WPIAL team trophies. Why?

In the past 16 months, we (Butler) have gone 1-46 against North Allegheny in all varsity programs, boys and girls, against a school with the same number of students.

Do we have talented athletes, solid coaching, an organized and supportive athletic department, and school support? I would say yes in all four areas.

So why the drastic disparity and trend in our sports? We need to look at what "athletics" means in our community and to our youth!

Are we in sports to earn scholarships or to learn how to be a leader and how to be dedicated to something? What are all the reasons to be in high school athletics in a community like ours?

Every parent and athlete wants to succeed and win, of course, and get the student's college education paid for. But are they staying the course?

Some kids are quitting teams as freshmen because they don't find immediate success. Others don't even try out for a team because they don't want to take that risk.

The most important reason to want to be on a team is to make one's family, school and community proud. Perhaps we've lost that.

The reason a kid goes out for sports is for his or her own personal improvement. That's why one should stay the course regardless of the athlete's status on the team.

Being part of a team gives a student athlete self-confidence, leadership skills and a sense of commitment and dedication, all of which will be used in future endeavors, long after the student graduates.

Here are some developments I've noticed over the years, good and bad:

1. Athletes are pressured to pick one sport and stick with it for 11 or 12 months a year.

Our teenagers and younger kids should try different sports, contribute their gifts to other programs - even if it is in a small way - and meet new friends.

Tyrell Sales is at Penn State on a football scholarship, but he also was a top scorer and rebounder in basketball while throwing the shot put, discus and javelin in track.

Troy Nunes went on to play quarterback at Syracuse, but he also was a guard on a standout Butler basketball team and jumped and sprinted in track.

Eddie Hartman played quarterback at Geneva College, and he still has the 1,600-meter record at Butler along with starting at point guard in basketball.

These athletes didn't NEED to play other sports. They wanted to contribute and meet new friends through playing for other teams.

More high school athletes should do the same.

2. Part time jobs and cars.

You turn 16 in Butler now and the car becomes a primary focus for independence and temporary status. Where's that status two years later when high school ends?

Four years in high school fly by. It's the only go-round most kids have to participate in athletics. They'll have the rest of their lives to pay the bills.

There is a lesson at this age to learn: The difference of knowing how to work at the Dairy Queen opposed to develop in ways to own a Dairy Queen.

3. Family Backing and Support.

I always coached with the following list of priorities: 1. Church and family, 2. School work, 3. Team.

This is a family oriented town with hometown pride. That's what drew me back to this area.

Pride, tradition, commitment, sacrifice and no excuses all start at home.

4. Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking.

Is it a problem in our community? Yes, in a big way. It's always been here for any teenager, but it's been increasing in all three areas at too rapid a rate.

The drug scene is shocking and heartbreaking. Whose responsibility is it to clean it up? Everybody's.

Kids go to the amusement park for fun. Some kids may smoke pot for fun. Running the mile, practicing twice a day in football pads in August or doing conditioning for basketball may not seem like fun.

But winning the mile or improving one's time in it, suiting up in front of 3,000 community residents on Friday nights or taking the court to a loud ovation certainly is.

So many of our youths are inactive or overweight. They're kids. They should be active. We should get them active and keep them active.

Why are our playgrounds always empty?

Young teams and improvements in this past winter sports season - wrestling, basketball and swimming - are positive signs.

Can we keep it going and get the commitment in every sport to put our best foot forward?

The bar needs to be raised to what we consider success and what we build in "our" youth for leadership and drive.

Average and mediocre teams may seem OK, but our town has so much more. Winning isn't everything, but it sure beats losing (1-46).

Raising the bar comes from within … "way down inside," and, yes, it does take sacrifice and passing up some frivolous and materialistic items.

Sports builds so much within our teenagers, and the pride and respect is earned every day. Making the attempt to win and how we go after it is most important.

Tradition, pride, style and class, and doing our best. That is all it takes and always has - always will.

No excuses.

Mike Seybert is a special education teacher at Butler High School. He was part of 13 WPIAL team championships and 14 runner-ups as a head and assistant varsity boys and girls track and field coach at Butler. He lettered four years in track and cross country at Duquesne University.