By Jim Dickey

There is no doubt that sports can greatly enhance a kids development. They can teach teamwork, discipline, the value of hard work, and a sense of fair play. Sports like football, baseball, soccer, and hockey have been a major component in the shaping of American’s self identity for more than a century. They are each wonderful in their own right, but they don’t serve everyone equally and in many cases serve to alienate kids who weren’t blessed with the gifts of size, strength, speed, or agility. As a guy who weighed 64 pounds in the 9th grade, I was constantly reminded that I was just short of worthless when participating in team sports. I endured all the jokes about being a horse jockey, a convenient armrest for taller players, and was even the “tossed object” in a couple of impromptu midget tossing contests. Suffice to say that I never found great joy in athletics.