"Getting rides" was necessary and done by us small town hicks 45 years ago - my freshman and sophomore teammates lined up rides with older teammates for whom our dropoff was "on the way." We helped pay gas money (among other things) in exchange. The hardest part actually was getting rides home after games on Friday or Saturday night (we played our home games at a local stadium but had to go back to the HS to shower, etc.)! As noted in the "low score thread" - I am OLD! Come to think of it, I actually rode a bike to 2-a-days most of freshman year. I didn't yet know anyone on the team who drove (that changed by the time 2-a-days ended), my dad was running his business during the day and mom was tending to 4 younger siblings. I would not have dreamed of any other way (and they didn't either). But that sounds like I walked to school through 6 feet of snow and -12 temperatures... lol.
Yeah. I'm from the 80s. I rode my bike everywhere unsupervised. From the country all the way into town and usually back. Strange for a time when a 10-11 year old would be possibly miles away from their parents, no cell phones, etc. In fact, only one time did my mom even get 'worried' that something was wrong when I wasn't home by 6 one summer day.
So on the one hand, we can say "get a ride." .....On the other hand, 30 years later my kid wasn't permitted by her mother to walk 6 blocks to school - it might not be safe (not my stance, drove me nuts). And my kid's friends, classmates and/or teammates had the same parental oversight - they were not permitted to walk. And they didn't share rides - a parent almost ALWAYS picked each one of them up separately- otherwise you weren't a good attentive parent and take that 10 minutes to bond (do I sound like a bitter NIMBY?)
And it's not even the parents. it's the other adults that will call the cops or CPS on unsupervised kids. When I was little we were in an apartment complex. Small complex, but still apartments. The lady downstairs HATED kids, and called the cops on my mom once because me and another kid were playing in 'the street' in front of our apartment. It was the driveway from the road to the parking lot. Cops did come, my mom was deemed fit as they realized it was a garbage complaint, but now... you don't know how crazy people are and how 'by the book' cops, CPS, and the courts are when it comes to children's safety.
And that was 10-15 years ago. So maybe the helicopter-parenting syndrome (but not in the MAC, lol!) is part (although probably not a predominant) explanation for declining participation in school sports today. It's somewhat counter-intuitive that a parent can/will provide rides with a grade school/junior high travel league or rec league soccer practice that takes place in the evening (and not every day), regardless of socio-economic status ---in sports that those of us here think of as secondary. Whereas by the time kids reach high school, most parents' work schedules do not mesh so well with varsity football and basketball practices (or any other sport/co-curricular activity) that usually occur right after school, every day, and end before many parents are off from work. Those of us on this thread cannot imagine that varsity football wouldn't be a hugely greater priority than grade school rec league soccer. But for many parents/families, the rec league soccer is more important to their kids' development than HS football or any other HS sport. I don't agree with that take, but many families follow that logic.
My daughter is in a lot of activities. The number of parents that get WAY too involved in their kids athletic competitions is honestly terrifying. I'm like... it's six year olds kicking a soccer ball around a badly mowed grass field with all the grace of newborn giraffes, and parents get heated over it. I'm just glad my daughter's playing with other kids her age and having fun. What's strange is that though some parents stick with the kids into high school events, I think maybe the kids rebelling from the parents and wanting them to 'leave me alone!' the parents generally do.
After-school jobs are part of the reason too. But there are probably 50 factors. From my perspective, the biggest factor, by far, is the cell-phone/ipad. Kids don't need to socialize in-person (and that socialization was part of the allure of sports in my day). Instead, texting, Instagram, emails all suffice for interpersonal communication. Yes, the high-end athlete uses those technological tools to promote themselves, their teams, etc... but for the 95% who are not elite athletes or in a culture like the MAC (which is the exception and not the norm), technology is not a tool to use to supplement athletics and other social activities. For those 95%, technology is THE social activity.
Don't blame the kids - somehow this happened on our watch.
I've said that, about cell phones/internet/social media, in other threads about attendance (both adults and kids) as a problem. Certainly would be a problem for participation as much as fan support. The Friday night game was a social night for adults, too. You'd talk to friends, neighbors, etc as much as you were watching the game. Kids socialized and it was a quasi-mature time to interact outside of school. Generally, you were unsupervised by still in a contained, mostly safe area. Other than lunch, or a few times in other classes that you were close, that you could talk to your friends. Same as the adults.
Now, everyone has their cell phone, their social media accounts... there is no 'catching up' with people on Friday night. You know far too much about them, honestly, than you should.
