During a recent SAD 58 school board meeting, Stratton Director Sara Wood stated: “If I had my way, I’d cut all sports.” I respectfully disagree.

Athletics play an important role in a student’s development toward adulthood. Athletics should go hand-in-hand with education, not one above the other. Athletics is much more than just winning and losing.

The concept of teamwork, of sacrificing individual needs to work together in seeking a common goal, is one of the great teaching points of team sports. In addition, the concept of working hard for a specific goal, of putting in the necessary time to be able to do a task well, are great lessons for kids. Ultimately, sports can teach kids of the need to prepare oneself for possible success.

The attributes listed above are sought by employers when they’re looking for employees.

As a father of three, I want my children to learn these lessons. These lessons can be taught through athletics in SAD 58. Without these lessons, my children would be at a disadvantage when leaving Mt. Abram High School.

More than 80 boys and girls played soccer last year at Mt. Abram High School, enrollment 320. That is 25 percent of the school’s enrollment.

There isn’t a state-mandated standardized test to measure some of these lessons; however, there is a test where these skills learned in athletics are put to the ultimate test – the test of life.

I hope Ms. Wood would reconsider her stance on athletics.

Darren Allen, Avon

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