Add sports training staff in increments

Talk about it

The Jamestown High School Athletic Department recently proposed a plan to hire staff to improve the overall performance of student athletes in an attempt to give them a greater opportunity for competing.

Jamestown Activity Director Jim Roaldson came to the Jamestown Public School Board with a plan to make high school athletes stronger, faster, quicker, more flexible, and even improve citizenship, all for about $46,000 a year.

The concept behind this plan aims for the right goal, but the approach can be changed to alleviate the cost to the district.

Nothing is wrong with wanting to win, and competition is healthy to form leaders for the future. The struggles of the JHS athletic programs in recent years are well documented, but some argue changes are needed in an attempt to improve the programs.

Three new staff members would gather and process raw data on athletes to ensure results, while working to develop special skills with the coaches.

Additionally, athletes would work in the summer months on developing sport-specific skills.

Three staff members may be too many for this program right out of the gate. We feel hiring only one or two would still provide a boost and save the district some funds. The district can always add one or two more staff members if the additional training proves to be beneficial after a year or two.

This would help those involved in sports because Jamestown only has a limited number of students compared to other schools it competes against.

It’s also important to keep an eye on how much this program will cost as the district will face deficit spending in the 2012-2013 school year. The Jamestown Public School Board could have some difficult choices in regards of cuts to programs when that time comes, so saving money now can save programs later.

Anything additional at this point can only help our athletes’ competitiveness. Our student athletes need to be given every opportunity to compete and excel.

We don’t have the training facilities Fargo or Bismarck has, and we don’t have the number of students they have, either.

But we do have the opportunity to take steps in the right direction.

(Editorials are the opinion of Jamestown Sun management and the newspaper’s editorial board)

Tags: opinion, editorials, jays, training