District 81 Lets Everyone Play Gyms, Coaches Overwhelmed By Kids As Schools Place Self-Esteem Over Skills

While most students still are home eating cereal, the gymnasium at Salk Middle School is a blur of 55 running, laughing, volleyball-pounding girls.

They consume the place, pulling back curtains to turn the stage into a third volleyball practice court.

This is what a “no-cut” policy looks like.

Spokane School District 81’s new policy - which ideally means all kids who go out for sports get to play - is turning gyms and ball diamonds at middle and elementary schools into such busy places there’s hardly room for bleachers.

The goal is to improve students’ self-esteem. Kids don’t face the humiliation of being sent home if they don’t make the team.

Experts say keeping that self-esteem intact is critical for children at such emotionally vulnerable ages.

But the new plan also creates enormous challenges for athletic directors who must hire more coaches and referees, spend thousands of dollars on uniforms and equipment, and figure out how to give children the attention they need.

Parents can expect their children to be shuffled from gym to gym on occasion, or to face unusual practice schedules. Students may end up with old uniforms that were stashed away for years.

At most schools, however, they’ll have a far better chance of “making the team.”

Some other area districts already have “no-cut” policies for lower grades, such as Mead, Central Valley and East Valley.

This fall marked the start of the widespread program for the region’s largest school district and its 31,000 students.

Friday morning at Salk, 33 eighth-grade girls line up at one point, waiting their turn to hit a volleyball tossed by junior varsity coach Ken White.

One girl says volleyball gives her a chance to make friends, although she probably wouldn’t have made the team without the no-cut policy.

Another girl wishes she got more one-on-one attention, but loves playing anyway. “He’ll get around to us eventually,” says Chelsea Muto, 13.

White believes it’s worth the wait. “That has to help their self-esteem, to find they’re successful at something they didn’t have the opportunity to try before.”

District 81 plans to spend about $120,000 on new, part-time coaching positions this year.

How many new coaches each middle and elementary school gets depends on the number of students turning out for sports.

Generally, one coach will be hired for every 34 students, although some coaches will be forced to make cuts because they lack gym space.

Ron Liss, athletic director at Garry Middle School, expects some students still won’t get to play basketball because Garry has the smallest gym in the district.

“We’ll have 60, 70 kids turn out for basketball and we have no idea how to do that,” Liss says.

Space limits will also mean some Salk students will be cut from basketball - one of the most popular sports, says Rick Stillar, Salk activities coordinator.

Otherwise, he says, “We’d get a lot of complaints from parents because their student athlete would only play two minutes a game.”

Some Garry teams will probably have to practice at nearby elementary schools, Liss says. The girls’ volleyball team already plays some of its “home” games at other schools.

Practice is an adventure. “We do a lot of small group activities, so they don’t get a real feel for the actual volleyball court,” Liss says. “But they get to work on their skills.”

Some coaches worry the quality of the teams will diminish and students won’t strive for excellence if they’re guaranteed a spot on the team.

“When you’re having 50, 60 kids, yeah, it does cut down the expertise,” says Liss. “You can’t spend that amount of time with the select kids, the better kids.”

But coaches say they’re trying to focus on varsity teams as much as ever. Children who play on the less-skilled teams know they have to work hard to make varsity.

“It’s the coaches’ job to make sure the high-end kids are being challenged and the low-end kids are brought up to that level,” says Stillar.

Some experts say before children reach high school, coaches should pay as much attention to self-esteem as to winning.

Frank Smoll, sports psychologist at the University of Washington, says no child should be cut from a team before age 14.

“Kids aren’t developmentally able to deal with some of the potential psychological trauma associated with it - the rejection,” says Smoll, who co-authored a book, “Way To Go, Coach!” that addresses cutting.

“There’s a real hypocrisy in many programs. Coaches talk about what a great opportunity they provide for kids. Then they deny some kids access simply because they’re not talented enough.”

Slow-maturing students also are unfairly weeded out, Smoll says.

“Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team when he was a sophomore - more than likely because he was a late maturer.”

Increased self-esteem is not free. While District 81 pays salaries for new coaches, schools themselves must come up with money for uniforms, equipment and referees.

Salk spent $2,400 on new volleyball equipment, not including 10 new uniforms. Sacajawea Middle School plans to spend between $1,500 to $3,000 to outfit a new baseball team.

Sacajawea athletic director Dominic Frucci just spent $470 on two volleyball referees - twice what he paid when fewer girls played.

Sometimes schools just compromise. One team of softball players at Salk got stuck with old uniforms. At Sacajawea, a softball team wore basketball uniforms. Some schools will gradually replace uniforms with new ones interchangeable for most sports.

No one says the no-cut policy is easy. But educators say their customers - parents and students - appear to appreciate the effort.

Darel Maxfield, who coached the new “C” softball team at Salk this fall, boasts a thank-you letter from a proud father.

Kevin Quinn says his daughter Karissa might have been cut from the Salk team without the new policy. “If she got cut, it’s just one more discouragement, like not passing a test,” says Quinn.

Karissa will learn enough about heated competition in high school, he says.

“You don’t want them to go out and be complete rubes and be eaten by the wolves. But you still like them to have faith in people and look forward to the day.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color)