The former Westporter — now a Weston resident — worked with the US Tennis Association, USA Triathlon, USA Swimming and US Soccer. He was chair of the National Governing Bodies Council, and managing director of operations, marketing and development for the US Anti-Doping Agency.
Skip Gilbert
Most recently, Gilbert was CEO of US Youth Soccer.
That’s especially fitting: He was a University of Vermont goalkeeper star, played with the professional Tampa Bay Rowdies, and trained with Sheffield United, and clubs in Holland and Hong Kong.
This month, Gilbert avidly watched the Winter Olympics. He had 2 perspectives: industry insider, and sports fan.
He wrote some thoughts for a soccer publication. But his insights speak to perhaps the most burning issue in all youth sports, here and across the country: At what age should children start to specialize? How young is too young — and what will happen if they don’t choose one sport early in life?
Gilbert said:
What did the Winter Olympics tell us about youth soccer in the US?
Plenty.
First, let me congratulate my former national governing body colleagues in putting together an impressive collection of world-class athletes to propel Team USA to its most successful Winter Games in history.
They were incredible to watch, and I could not have been prouder, absorbing every minute of every telecast.
Both the US men’s and women’s hockey teams won gold medals — both with 2-1 overtime wins against Canada.
Of all the great content delivered by NBC over the past few weeks, the most impactful regarding youth soccer was a segment by Mary Carillo, outlining the philosophy of youth development by one European country for kids under 12.
Their focus is for those kids to learn the chosen sport(s) with the goal of having fun. No pressure, no champions, no imagined expectations for parents to embrace.
Many will say that culture can’t succeed in the US.
I strongly disagree. For years, well before my recent role in youth soccer, I’ve been a strong advocate for multi-sport training for kids under 12 — and a firm believer that the only term kids under 12 should use is “player.”
No “elite.” No “travel.” Just “player.”
I also emphatically support the American Development Model (ADM) for coaching, designed by a sport national governing body and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
For kids under 12, the goal is to learn the game, have fun, and pursue a path that will allow them to love, play and enjoy the game throughout their entire life.
From there, those with the “it” factor will have the path to follow, courtesy of the ADM. Those that don’t will not need to quit the sport. They will have an alternate path to follow.
If you are skeptical, let me end with 2 questions.
What national governing body wrote the ADM with the USOPC? USA Hockey — and they have gold medals for both the women’s and men’s teams.
As for the European country? It’s Norway: population 5.5 million (the same as Minnesota; the US population is 342 million). Their performance this month produced the most gold medals — and most total medals — in Winter Olympic history.
The Winter Olympics told us clearly that youth soccer in the US has something to learn.
Many other sports can heed those lessons too.
(“06880” regularly covers sports, kids, the joys and pressures of life in Westport, and much more. If you enjoy the broad scope of this hyper-local blog, please click here to support us. Thank you!)
It’s late July. If you’re a youth sports parent, this may be one of those rare times: a weekend without your kid’s “elite” team playing a couple of games, or traveling to a “showcase” tournament.
Maybe your child’s batting, shooting or goalkeeping coach is on his own vacation.
But the clock is ticking. The fall season — for youth and high school sports — starts in a few minutes. The 11 1/2-month cycle begins again.
Much of it is driven by one goal: to catch the eye of college coaches.
Dave Smith has an important perspective on it all.
He and his wife Jeanne have lived in Westport for over 15 years. Their 4 children played multiple sports, including football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball and volleyball.
Caleb (Staples High School Class of ’24) is playing lacrosse at Boston University. Nathan, a Staples senior, will play football at Trinity College. Chloe is a Staples sophomore, while Noah looks forward to being a freshman there next fall.
From left: Nathan, Caleb, Dave, Noah, Chloe and Jeanne Smith. Caleb and Nathan starred on Staples’ 2024 state champion football team.
Dave played basketball and ran track at Trinity. He runs a leadership coaching practice. Today — with years of youth sports experience behind him — he offers these insights into college recruiting:
Lots of parents shell out lots of money, while trekking all over the country to help their kids succeed in sports.
“Two in 10 youth sports parents,” the article says, “think their child has the ability to play Division I college sports.”
Playing college sports is a terrific dream, one our family has pursued for all our kids. And we contributed mightily to the youth travel industry along the way.
Recently, my oldest Caleb and I were on an “06880” panel discussing the challenges of navigating youth sports. The notoriously opaque process of college recruiting can be even more bewildering. Having stumbled through recruiting with 3 of ours, my perspectives may be helpful for parents mapping out your child’s journey.
Staples High School sports signing day ceremony, 2024. College sports is a goal for many young athletes (and their parents). But the road is far from smooth. (Photo/Lynda Kommel-Browne)
√ With the NCAA athlete settlement in June, universities opting in (to avoid future litigation) will have roster limits (no more walk-ons), and pay athletes a portion of the school’s revenues. NCAA football and basketball will become the equivalent of baseball’s minor leagues. To play at these Power Conference schools, D1 recruits typically attend specialized private/prep schools, and oftentimes “re-class” (repeat a grade) to have a chance.
√ For smaller D1 schools who don’t opt in (like the Ivy and Patriot Leagues), competition for recruitment is fierce. Even at this level, if you don’t fit the D1 football or basketball measurables for size and speed, you’re unlikely to be considered, regardless of your high school career success or performance at showcases and camps.
√ Some college sports – such as swimming, rowing (erg stats) and track – recruit solely on times.
√ Lacrosse (boys and girls) remains the most viable college recruitment path for Fairfield County public school athletes. The Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC) is one of the top high school lax leagues in the country. Size does not matter as much as speed and athleticism, making lacrosse viable for many more athletes. As a result of Title IX, the path is easier for girls (125 D1 lax programs) than boys (73 D1 lax programs).
√ Rugby is an up-and-coming sport, with a blossoming youth league and a nationally ranked program at Staples. Size is less of a factor in rugby recruiting than in football.
√ College coaches still value multi-sport high school athletes. They demonstrate a variety of skills, and can adapt to play multiple positions — providing teams with the flexibility needed in today’s college game.
Playing more than one sport is appealing to college coaches. Athletes learn how to deal with a variety of pressure situations, and learn from various coaching styles — while avoiding burnout and overuse injuries. (Photo/Mark Conrad for Ruden Report)
√ D1 recruiting for most sports is heaviest after one’s junior season. Communication with college coaches is conducted through the high school coach. D1 lacrosse recruiting (boys and girls) is heaviest after their sophomore season, and is conducted through their summer club team coach.
√ College coaches prefer not to communicate through parents. In fact, pushy parents are seen as a negative, and can hinder prospects. In my view, college recruiting firms are not worth the money.
√ Lastly, D3 sports are grossly underrated. The quality of competition is tremendous, much better than when I played. Most D3 schools participate in both conference tournaments and national D3 championships. D3 may be an ideal target for public school athletes, especially those who are undersized by D1 standards.
Playing a sport in college is a fantastic experience, and an awesome goal for any athlete. But I try to remember what Tony Boselli, a National Footbal League Hall of Fame lineman and All-American at the University of Southern California told an audience of all-staters: His fondest memories across his entire football career were those high school Friday nights, running onto the field representing his classmates and his town.
Yes, work for the future. But be sure to enjoy the present!
Some Staples High School lacrosse players will continue in college. All will always remember their state championship. (Photo/JC Martin)
They teach goal-setting. Perseverance. Dealing with disappointment. Learning to win with class, and lose without being a jerk.
Working as a team. Working with different personalities. Pushing your body. Having fun. The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.
Youth sports are also so bad, on so many levels.
There are parental pressures, and unrealistic expectations. Coaches’ pressures, with their own unrealistic expectations. The high cost of “pay to play.” Specialization. Burnout.
Misplaced values. Time. Traveling each weekend to play “showcase” tournaments (which really aren’t), against teams from the next town.
The other night, “06880” teamed up with young adult author Tommy Greenwald, to present a special panel.
“Fair Play and Foul Behavior: Issues Facing Youth Sports in Today’s World” focused on many of the issues noted above.
It was an expert group. They hit it out of the park.
Panelists included:
Tommy Greenwald: former Staples High School soccer state champion captain; father of 3 athletes; author of several books highlight the pressures and joys of youth sports
VJ Sarullo, Staples athletic director
Dave Smith, father of 4 athletes who writes frequently on youth sports topics
Caleb Smith, former Staples quarterback, basketball and All-American lacrosse star, who played football and club lacrosse this year at the University of Connecticut
Heather Talbott, PAL girls lacrosse co-president and basketball organizer; former lacrosse player at Lehigh University
Mark Pressman, longtime football and softball official.
If you missed the panel — perhaps you were picking up your kids from practice, or coaching a team yourself — we’ve got you covered.
(Panels like this one are one more service of “06880.” If you enjoy the many ways we cover — and educate — our community, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Attention, youth sports parents: The “06880” panel on that very topical topic is tomorrow night (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria).
We’ve partnered with Tommy Greenwald — the famed youth adult sports fiction writer, former Staples athlete (and father of 3 athletes) — to present “Fair Play and Foul Behavior: Issues Facing Youth Sports in Today’s World.”
We’ll talk about the achievement/pressure balance, referee abuse, sport specialization, cost, the “academy” syndrome, myths and realities of college recruiting, and more.
I’ll moderate the event, and include time for audience questions. Panelists are:
VJ Sarullo, Staples athletic director
Dave Smith, father of 4 athletes who writes frequently on youth sports topics
Caleb Smith, former Staples quarterback and lacrosse star, now playing football at the University of Connecticut
Heather Talbott, PAL girls lacrosse co-president and basketball organizer; former lacrosse player at Lehigh University
Mark Pressman, longtime football and softball official
If your child is a pretty good athlete — or you think they are — odds are they (and you) are part of the “youth sports industrial complex.”
The phrase sounds satirical.
It isn’t.
As any parent with a young travel/elite player knows, the days of kids of varying ages meeting in the backyard, choosing teams, then playing on their own until dinnertime (all while making and enforcing their own rules), has gone the way of wooden bats and $20 soccer shoes.
Blast from the past.
Youth sports is a big business. And in a town like Westport — where personal hitting coaches, shooting coaches and fitness trainers are a dime a dozen (though exponentially more expensive) — there is an expectation that all that time and money will yield a substantial ROI.
Yet — besides rueful comments on the sidelines about yet another trip to yet another “showcase” tournament at yet another faraway place to play yet another game against a team from Wilton — how much do we really talk about this?
Next month, Westport youth sports parents will get a chance to do just that.
“06880” has partnered with Tommy Greenwald to present a special panel. “Fair Play and Foul Behavior: Issues Facing Youth Sports in Today’s World” is set for May 14 (7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria).
Topics will include the achievement/pressure balance, referee abuse, sport specialization, cost, the “academy” syndrome, myths and realities of college recruiting, and more.
Training, competing — and competing for spots — begins at an early age.
Greenwald is a young adult author, specializing in youth sports. His latest book, “The Right Call” — a companion novel to his previous “Game Changer” —explores the growing pressures young athletes face, and the lengths some parents go to make sure their kid comes out on top. Greenwald will give away some copies of his book at the event.
The 1979 Staples High School state champion co-captain’s 3 sons were also Staples athletes and captains.
Panelists include:
VJ Sarullo, Staples athletic director
Dave Smith, father of 4 athletes who writes frequently on youth sports topics
Caleb Smith, former Staples quarterback and lacrosse star, now playing football at the University of Connecticut
Heather Talbott, PAL girls lacrosse co-president and basketball organizer; former lacrosse player at Lehigh University
Mark Pressman, longtime football and softball official
And of course Tommy Greenwald himself.
Moderator Dan Woog was the Staples boys soccer head coach for 19 years, and a youth coach for nearly 30 years before that. He is a co-founder of the Westport Soccer Association, and writes nationally on youth sports topics.
The event will include time for audience participation.
Dave Smith and his wife Jeanne have lived in Westport for over 15 years. Their 4 children played multiple sports, including football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball and volleyball.
Caleb (Staples High School Class of ’24) is at the University of Connecticut. Nathan, a Staples senior, will attend Trinity College. Chloe is a Staples sophomore, while Noah ooks forward to being a freshman there next fall.
From left: Nathan, Caleb, Dave, Noah, Chloe and Jeanne Smith. Caleb and Nathan starred on Staples’ 2024 state champion football team.
For 5 years, he has published “Dads’ Survival Guide.” The weekly blog highlights parenting and marriage issues, with a perspective many Westport men can relate to.
This week, Dave — who coached his children on Westport Recreation, PAL and Little League teams — tackled a fraught topic: travel sports.
Calling it “a tangled and confusing web for any Dad to navigate,” he offers words of hard-earned wisdom for many Westporters. Dave writes:
The tension and stress on our kids during tryouts. The agonizing wait to hear. The disappointment of missing out. Or the joy of making a team.
Then, the commitment. To each game, practice, clinic and showcase. Year-round. An expectation from team coaches for families to rearrange their lives so players can attend everything.
And the cost! Oh, the cost! Participation fees. Off-season and pre-season workouts. Private coaching. Equipment. Uniforms. Gas. Hotels. Flights. A mind-bogglingly, expensive endeavor.
Yes, that’s travel sports. Which can make us Dads feel helpless. And hapless. Because once we get on the travel train, it seems impossible to get off. Peer pressure compels us to do it all.
Any Dad can struggle with travel sports. Even All-Pro NFLer Greg Olsen, who captured what many of us feel in a recent interview. “Everyone is fearful of our kids falling behind,” said Olsen. “It snowballs. Everyone else is doing it, so we’re just doing what they’re doing.”
Doing what everyone else is doing. Because we’re fearful of our little superstar falling behind. Yep, guilty, as charged.
In the Smith household, with multiple kids playing multiple travel sports, we’ve stumbled and bumbled our way for years. Missteps. Miscalculations. Mistakes. And wasted $$$.
But, what did we know? Nothing. And with advice coming from every angle, we were bewildered about who to believe. Or which paths to take.
Fortunately, none of our blunders were prohibitive. Or fatal. And now, with our brood playing multiple sports in high school and college, we have gained some perspective. Hindsight. Perhaps, too late for us. But maybe, helpful for others.
Here’s my 2 cents – for what it’s worth.
Specialization: 10,000 hours. Focus, focus, focus. We were told countless times the only way to play sports at the highest levels was by specializing. In a single sport. And a specific position. From a young age.
Baloney. There are countless athletes playing multiple sports in high school. Truth is, for many kids specialization is the wrong route.
With no participation requirement in high school sports, specialization narrows possibilities. In basketball, there are 5 on the court. Maybe 8 in the rotation. Chosen across 3 classes (soph, junior, senior). Only 9 on a baseball diamond. These limited play possibilities may alter one’s youth sports calculus.
Oftentimes, specialization leads to injuries from overuse. Working the same muscles again and again, year-round. TEENS having Tommy John surgery! Crazy And, kids burnout. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. One day our tiny protégé loves a sport. The next, they’re done with it.
Personally, I’m a huge proponent of remaining multi-sport athletes as long as possible.
Nearly 57 percent of Tommy John surgeries are performed on 15-19-year-old baseball players.
Success Factors: In my experience, the attributes high school coaches value in players is entirelydifferent from those youth coaches prefer.
High school coaches want unselfish, team-first players, who listen and learn. Mastering the fundamentals of DEFENSE and footwork are essential. Players must watch film and know the playbook. Coaches look for character in their players. Those with resolve and tenacity, an ability to fight thru adversity.
Fact is, size, strength or athletic advantages in youth play may not translate to success at the next level. Conversely, there are plenty of prolific high school athletes who were not standouts in youth sports.
Team Wins over Individual Development: Travel coaches – the professionals – focus on team success to help promote their Travel program. There is limited focus on individual skill development during a travel season. Teaching our kids the basics of how to pitch properly, swing a bat or shoot a basketball is on us Dads. Either by ourselves or with a private coach. This was a big surprise for me.
Alternative Sports: Youth programs center around a small subset of sports. With so many kids fighting for so few high school slots, the competition in these sports is intense.
However, there are plenty of high school sports for boys and girls which don’t get much fanfare but can be equally as enriching. Cross-country. Volleyball. Rugby. Hockey. Wrestling. Skiing. Swimming. Diving. Water polo. Fencing. Golf. Tennis. Squash. Cheerleading. Crew. Track and Field. Loads of options for our kids to play through high school. And perhaps, beyond.
After Staples, Terry Brannigan went on to a very successful wrestling career at Wesleyan University.
Best Fit: As we ponder the intense commitment and $$$ of travel sports, we should start by considering each child’s strengths, natural talents, and personality.
Do they prefer individual sports, relying on their own performance vs. being part of a team? Are they repeat-motion kids; meticulous and disciplined enough to do one thing over and over again (pitching, rowing or field goal kicking)? Do they have strong hand-eye coordination (hitting a baseball, tennis or catching a football)?
Are they high endurance athletes (running, biking)? Capable of hustling up and down the field endlessly (midfielders)? Or are they best suited for shorts bursts of intense effort (sprints, shot put, wrestling)? Would our kids thrive in high profile, pressure positions (QB, goalie, gymnast)? Or prefer operating in the background (lineman, outfield, defender)?
Finding sports and positions which match our kids’ nature helps build confidence from an early age. While developing a passion to improve.
Travel sports can be a terrific way for our kids to pursue what they love. And compete at a high level. Yet, travel sports can be confusing. Especially for Dads. Thinking about the down-the-road realities can help make the travel sports experience even greater for our kids. And better for us Dads, too.
Go, Dads. Go.
(To be added to the “Dads’ Survival Guide” distribution list, email davidosmith7777@gmail.com)
(“06880” often covers youth issues, sports and parenting topics. We also frequently offer a platform for readers’ opinions. If you enjoy our hyper-local blog, please click here to aid our work. Thanks!)
As pressure mounts on young athletes to be more competitive than ever, Sebastian Little says: Enough!
The leadership coach — who works with clients in MLB, the NBA and NHL, and is in his 3rd year as Yale University football’s performance coach — will speak on a Westport Public Schools and Westport Together panel called “For the Love of the Game: How Parents Can Promote Successful Athletes on and Off the Field.”
The session — for parents and coaches — will offer insights and strategies into “balancing competition with compassion and growth with enjoyment.”
The event is on Tuesday, March 5 (7 p.m., Bedford Middle School auditorium). Click here to register.
Speaking of sports: The Staples boys basketball team is in the FCIAC (league) final for the 2nd time in 2 years tonight.
The #4-seed Wreckers — fresh off Tuesday’s huge upset over #1 Ridgefield — are playing for the championship for the 2nd straight year. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Wilton High, against Trumbull.
Staples fell to Danbury in last year’s title match (and then went on a great run, to the state Division II final).
But it’s been a while since the Westporters last won the FCIAC crown. 61 years, in fact. Their first — and only — league championship came in 1963.
Charlie Scott — Staples’ talented senior video producer/WWPT-FM announcer — has created another superb pump-up video. Click below to see:
Last night’s winds knocked out power in a few areas of Westport and Weston.
Trees and wires were down at 15 Partrick Road, 119 Hillandale Road and 30 Prospect Road.
Outages affected the Greens Farms and Wilton Road neighborhoods.
At 8:30 a.m., 78 Westport customers (0.61%) were without power. There were 105 outages (2.66%) in Weston. The total number statewide was 3,399 (0.26%).
Wires down at South Morningside Drive and Hillandale Road. At 8:30 a.m., crews were on the scene. (Photo/Bob Weingarten)
Dara Horn forcefully addressed the recent rise of antisemitism last night, at Chabad of Westport.
Dara Horn — author of “People Love Dead Jews” — headlined the event, part of Chabad’s Critical Conversations series. Nearly 200 people attended.
“People ask: Are Jews a race, a religion, or a nationality? she said.
“Jews existed before these structures existed. What is clear is Jewish civilization is indigenous to the land of Israel. It’s not a political statement. It’s fact.
“People want to erase Jewish culture, but instead that is exactly what needs to be explained and taught to ensure its survival.”
Dara Horn, at Chabad of Westport. (Photo and hat tip/Matthew Mandell)
Her fans know here as Jean Louisa Kelly. Her Westport neighbors and friends call her Jean Pitaro.
Whatever name she goes by, Jean is featured at the Westport Country Playhouse’s first Mic in Hand of 2024. She takes the stage April 4 (7 p.m.).
Jean’s stage and screen credits include the original Broadway cast of “Into the Woods,: and the movies “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” “Uncle Buck” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Her uplifting show will be a journey through her life in and out of show business, with songs from “Gypsy,” “The Fantasticks,” “Next to Normal” and “Company.”
All tickets are $40. Click here to purchase, and learn more. Proceeds benefit education programming at the Playhouse.
Also new at the Playhouse: the first Barnstormer event.
It’s “Ann Talman: Elizabeth Taylor and the Shadow of Her Smile” (April 21, 7 p.m.).
Broadway veteran Talman portrayed Taylor’s daughter on Broadway in “The Little Foxes,” beginning a lifelong friendship.
This show is an evening of story and song about Ann and Elizabeth’s bond.
All tickets are $20. Click here to purchase, and learn more.
Called “Jewels of Westport,” they visit the hidden — or at least lesser-known — gems of our town.
On Tuesday they toured Westport Public Art Collections’ Town Hall display.
Overall, WestPAC’s collection includes over 2,000 artistic treasures. Many are in schools, where they are enjoyed by students and staff, yet often unseen by the public.
But how many of us walk by all the art on the Town Hall walls, without giving it a second glance?
The Y’s Women Town Hall tour was led by WestPAC co-president Anne Boberski. It was “eye-opening,” for sure.
Anne Boberski leads the Y’s Women Westport Permanent Art Collections tour in Town Hall.
Westport Police made 6 custodial arrests between February 21 and 28.
One — reported earlier — was for larceny, in connection with the theft of 5 Israel flag yard signs in December.
One was for larceny, illegal use of a credit card, identity theft, criminal impersonation and forgery, following a February 7 complaint that a mailed check was stolen, altered from $830 to $18,300 and deposited.
A woman was arrested for criminal attempt at larceny, identity theft and forgery, after a complaint in April 2022 that a check had been stolen from a US Postal Service box on Myrtle Avenue, altered from $250 to $4,300, and attempted to be cashed.
Another woman was arrested for criminal attempt at larceny, larceny and identity theft, following a complaint in January that a check had been stolen, altered and cashed.
A man was arrested after he and a juvenile shoplifted $492 worth of groceries from Stop & Shop. They were found with the bags at the HomeGoods bus stop. The man was charged with larceny, criminal impersonation and failure to appear. The juvenile was issued a summons and released.
One woman was arrested for failure to appear.
Police also issued these citations:
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 5 citations
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 3
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 3
Traveling unreasonably fast: 2
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 2
Kicking + Screening is a film festival dedicated solely to soccer. (Now do you get the clever name?)
It returns next month for its 15th year in New York. But it’s very much a Westport production.
Current Westport resident Rachel Markus co-founded Kicking + Screening in 2009, with former professional player Greg Lalas.
Always an avid fan (and a ruthless striker), Rachel studied film at New York University. She has worked in the film industry for over 2 decades.
The other local connection: This year’s festival will be held at Football Cafe, the Lower East Side “soccer cultural center” founded by Kyle Martino.
He’s the 1999 Staples graduate — and former Gatorade National High School Player of the Year, MLS Rookie of the Year, US men’s national team player and NBC Sports Premier League broadcaster. Kyle is now a soccer analyst with Warner Brothers Discovery Sports.
The 2024 festival lineup — 11 features and shorts, plus panels, special guests and more from March 14 to 16 — includes Eric Cantona’s Manchester United biography, “The United Way.” Click here for more information, and tickets.
Norwalk Hospital — once independent, now part of Nuvance Health — may soon become part of a larger group.
Nuvance — owner of 4 Connecticut hospitals, and 3 in New York — plans to merge with Northwell Health. They are New York State’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with more than 81,000 employees.
Together, the companies will own 28 hospitals, and more than 1,000 other care sites.
In 2019, Ruth Sherman was an “06880” Unsung Hero of the Week.
At 79 years old, she had just returned from a 100-mile spiritual trek in Spain.
We hailed her for her civic work — teaching exercise and fitness at the Westport Weston Family Y, Senior Center and Arthritis Foundation family aquatics program.
We noted that every day for 50 years — in all kinds of weather — Ruth walked from Hillspoint Road to the top of Compo Hill.
She’s now in her mid-80s. And she’s still walking.
Tammy Barry spotted her yesterday. The weather was meh, but there was Ruth, getting in her (many) steps.
Tammy writes: “Ruth walks in rainy, snowy, and sunny weather. What a beautiful woman, on the inside and out!
“She is an inspiration and role model for us all. She told me she wakes up every day and never has a complaint— it’s not allowed. Keep on moving and grooving. Ruth!”
Tammy sent a great photo too.
So — apropos of nothing, and everything — here’s another “06880” to the indefatigable, wonderful Ruth Sherman!
And finally … do you know how hard it is to find a leap year song?!
I’ve spent my February 29 searching the internet. This will have to do.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. We cover news, events, businesses, restaurants, sports, trends, history and more — and we do it 24/7/365. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
If anyone can write about youth sports, it’s Tommy Greenwald.
The Westport native captained Staples High School’s 1978 state championship soccer team. His son Joe followed in his footsteps, as a Wrecker soccer captain. Another son, Jack, captained the lacrosse squad and played football. A third son, Charlie, also played youth sports.
Plus, Greenwald is a writer.
Tommy Greenwald
He’s authored several young readers’ series: the “Charlie Joe Jackson” books (named for his kids), Crimebiters (think dogs), and sports stories aimed at 10-12-year-olds like “Game Changer” and “Dinged” (football) and “Rivals” (basketball).
Some of those books took on serious subjects, like injuries.
Now, with “The Ultimate Goal” — the first in a series called “The Good Sports League,” and published officially tomorrow — Greenwald aims at younger (7- to 10-year-old) readers.
He does it with a theme that should not be necessary for kids that age, but sadly is: Sports should be fun.
The quick synopsis: Ben loves soccer. He’s got a great team, with cool pre-game chants and halftime jokes. He and his friends invent dances after they score.
Ben is so good, he’s recruited away from his rec team by a more prestigious travel club. His new team plays well, but they take soccer super-seriously. No chants, no juice-box breaks, no dancing!
They win a lot. But, Ben wonders: Is that all that matters?
Sound familiar?
“This is very personal,” Greenwald says.
“Growing up, my team was a canary in a coal mine. We were one of the first to travel.” (Full disclosure: I coached that team for a couple of years, right after college.)
But, Greenwald adds, “I never remember pressure like kids feel today. They’re thinking about college from Day 1. A game turns into a job. There are premier teams, academy teams, showcase tournaments, identification camps …
“The ‘next prize’ is always in mind. And it starts at younger and younger ages.
“I just had a blast. That was enough.”
Greenwald saw the beginning stages with his own kids (now all out of college).
Now, he says, “the only way to have a carefree attitude is to play at the lowest level.”
“The Ultimate Goal” — a great title, working on several levels — is the first in a series of books about the joy of playing.
This fall, Greenwald will publish one about a softball player who loves to sing and dance. She’s just 10 years old, but already her coach is pressuring her to concentrate on her sport. And wouldn’t you know it: Opening night of the school play and the championship game are the same night! What will she do?
Tommy Greenwald had a happy time as a kid, playing sports.
He hears stories all the time, most recently from a friend’s son who felt pressure to give up lacrosse to concentrate on football.
“People used to look up to 3-sport athletes,” he says. (His wife Cathy Utz’s brother was a 3-sport captain at Staples.) “Then it happened in high school. Now the demand to focus on only one thing happens at a comically young age.”
The lack of fun and pressure to specialize are not the only youth sports issues Greenwald addresses. The third book in his “Good Sports League” series will appear next spring.
It’s about a young baseball player, whose father attacks umpires.
“Sadly, there’s an endless trove of story ideas,” Greenwald notes.
Is there a solution?
“I don’t know,” the author and self-described “lapsed athlete” says.
“It starts with awareness. I fully admit, I was a parent who lost perspective. I got wound up. I was upset if my kid’s team lost.
“Now I’m embarrassed. That was ridiculous. Why was I so wrapped up in what my kid’s team did?
“It’s almost like an addiction, or a cult. That was me?”
However, he adds, “I don’t envy parents. In a town full of A-listers, if your kid has talent, you feel like you owe it to him or her to maximize it — even if they don’t want to do it, or do it on your timetable.”
His job, he concludes, “is not to tell readers (or their parents) what to think. It’s just to encourage them to think, have conversations, ask questions.”
Game on! Play ball!
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The other weekend, as I spent many hours watching my son play sports, I thought about all the hours that the coaches put in for practices and games.
The parents who volunteer to coach their kids’ teams time and time again are really unsung heroes.
After a rough loss at flag football, throwing both a touchdown and then an interception, my son left the field in tears. His Coach — Todd Freemon — noticed, and took the time to come over and have a nice one-on0one chat.
He told him all the things you’d want your kid to be told, including not to take it all on himself. Then he made him laugh about his teammate who left his flags in the port-a-potty during the game.
Todd Freemon, coaching 5th-6th grade flag football.
I know a lot of these dads (and moms) work hard during the week. Then they get out there to manage a group of sometimes unruly kids, not to mention the joys and challenges of coaching your own kid (which my husband knows well).
The coaches do it so that the games can be played and kids can have fun, but more importantly so that they can learn many life lessons about how to win, how to lose, how to be a good teammate and how to keep trying.
Thank you to Todd, and all the parents who take one for the team, and manage our kids with enthusiasm and grace.
Thanks, Lauren. If you’re a youth sports coach — or have been one — you are this week’s Unsung Hero. If you’re not: Hopefully you’ve supported your kid’s coaches in the past!
Two days after the high school sports governing body pushed the start of interscholastic winter sports back to January 19, Governor Lamont did the same for youth teams.
His order — effective Monday — ends club team practices, games and tournaments, indoors and outdoors, for the next 2 months. Several COVID outbreaks have been traced back to youth sports.
Youth basketball has been played in Westport since the early 1900s. This was an early YMCA team. It — and all other kids’ sports — have been canceled through January 19.
The other night, Ian O’Malley’s Ring app notified him there was a visitor at his Greens Farms-area door.
The Westport realtor and New York radio personality was not expecting anyone.
“He was a lot bigger than he looks” (below), Ian reports:
He was not the only buck hanging around. James Chantler Brown has seen this handsome animal several times in the past few days, off Whitney Street:
Speaking of big bucks: The Westport Downtown Merchants Association has just launched “Downtown Dollars.”
The goal of the digital gift card is to encourage local shopping. Purchasers can write a personal message on the card, and send it to family, friends and colleagues by email, text, even physically (!).
Click here to purchase; then scroll down for a list of participating merchants.
David Krasne has created a Google spreadsheet that tracks daily coronavirus updates in Connecticut. Each tab reflects a different town in southern Fairfield County.
David also tracks the rolling 7-day and 14-day average new case rates, per 100,000 population. Click here to see Westport; click other tabs at the bottom of the page.
Two years ago, Westporter Andrew Goldman launched an independent podcast, “The Originals.”
In April — with his interview with “The Nanny” Fran Drescher — it became the Los Angeles Times‘ only official podcast. Since then he’s chatted with Danny DeVito, Joan Collins, Barry Sonnenfeld and many others.
Goldman’s most recent guest is Michael J. Fox.
The episode is “different and more personal than any I’ve done,” he says. Goldman begins by talking about his “almost inconceivable privilege” — but admits he is still not particularly happy.
Fox, of course, has many more reasons to despair. His Parkinson’s is increasing; a recent accident took away his ability to walk, and send him into depression.
Yet the actor found a way to rekindle his optimism. His message is inspiring — and particularly meaningful at this unlike-any-other-holiday time.
Gabriel Marous is a Westporter teenager, Pierrepont School student and Saugatuck Rowing Club racer.
He’s also seen the effects the coronavirus has had on area residents. So, with 2 friends, he formed the North Stamford Youth Action Group.
Their first initiative — a drive-through food pantry — helped them feed 33 families. A second one is set for this Sunday (November 22). With the holidays coming, the need is even greater.
To help, email digital gift cards from a local grocery story to contact.NSYAG@gmail.com. You can also search for Cash App under the name “NSYAG.” To volunteer, use the email address above or call 203-744-9796.
Gabriel Marous
Fourteen Staples High School seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. They are among more than 1.5 million students who took the PSAT exam. Congratulations to:
Back row (from left): Alexander Toglia, Simon Rubin, Sebastian Montoulieu, Rishabh Mandayam. Front: Charoltte Zhang, Mira Mahendru, Gary Lu, Lucas Lieberman, Frederick Linn.
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They win a lot. But, Ben wonders: Is that all that matters?
