Poll Misses the Point

It was with distress that my colleagues and I read Mike Hiserman’s “High School Notebook” on Oct. 6.

In his column, Mr. Hiserman listed the Valley’s 10 worst high school football teams and added some deprecating remarks about their performances. Clearly, Mr. Hiserman has missed the point about high school athletics. His cynical barbs are not pointed at well-paid, professional athletes, but at adolescent boys who play a sport only for fun while trying to do well in their studies.

Interscholastic athletics provide an arena for boys and girls to develop character, to work cooperatively for a common cause, to learn sportsmanship, and to encourage physical fitness. By our standards, a losing season can be a very successful one.

Given the recent incidents of corruption and drug abuse in collegiate and professional sports, it seems even more important to those of us in high schools to promote positive values. Mr. Hiserman’s article serves a destructive purpose. Instead it embarrasses high school athletes and erodes the positive spirit that exists in most of the Valley’s athletic programs, regardless of their won-loss records.

Robert J. Dworkoski

Principal

Harvard Upper School