Re: Rita J. Murphy’s Sept. 26 letter, “What does football teach?�:
In response to the letter from Rita Murphy regarding football players on the bench, football teaches many things: respect for authority, how to be part of a team, hard work, dedication and commitment — the list goes on and on.
Football isn’t for everybody. What this young man has learned is that being a part of a team doesn’t always mean getting to be in the spotlight. This is a life lesson that everyone needs to learn. I’m sure he gets worked just as hard at practice as his teammates.
I work at Grace Brethren High School, and when our football team won the CIF championship in 2004, every player got that championship ring, even the ones who hadn’t been on the field, and believe me, they were proud to wear it.
This is a sport of competition — not merely group participation. Like it or not, winning is the goal on game night. Second-guessing coaches, while a popular pastime, is not productive. Coaching is a high-intensity, high-stress job made more difficult by every critic who thinks he/she could do a better job. And no, I’m not a coach. I’m the school librarian.
In the words of my younger brother’s former Pop Warner coach: “Do you want to play, or do you want to win?�
— Gaye Quick, Simi Valley
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