What about Free Lunch Kids and Sports?

In January I get the opportunity to provide a full day training on the perceptions of poverty and best practices for the school environment.  I am a little geeked up about this.  I finished the slides over a month ago but I still keep my radar on for anything I may have missed as it relates to students of poverty and how to reach them.  As I was leaving one day, the custodian pointed out that the boys basketball list had been posted outside the gym and some that came to see it were a little disappointed.  He said some of them remarked that only the "rich" kids made the team like they always do.

My knee jerk reaction was to disagree with the comment.  I new first hand how many pairs of shoes I had bought for kids that could not afford them.  I also took issue with the idea that we have "rich" kids in our school because we certainly don't.  After I spent some time trying to discredit the statement, I could not.  There is some truth behind what was said.  The gaps between free lunch kids and middle class kids are evident in all areas of schooling, including athletics.

Think about how the lack of resources effects the free lunch kid.  I had a colleague that told me a while back that he had to pick up some of his kids on the way to practice.  I was in my administrative internship so I cringed at the notion that he was putting kids in his car.  While he made me nervous about it, I realized that he was placing the relationship with his players above liability.  I've also seen coaches kick kids off of their teams because they missed practices due to a lack of a ride.  These are two extremes but there has to be a middle ground.  I would say there is a way to have high expectations and still establish the needed relationship that the free lunch kid needs.

Often, teams require the purchasing of extras for the players.  This might mean team shoes, bags, shooting shirts and what have you.  This is daunting to a family that does not have the funds to buy these things.  It may turn away those kids that desperately need the relationship that a coach and a team can provide.  This is where the illusion of players being the "rich kids" comes in.  If you have fancy things, you have money.  The lack of resources should not interrupt the the possibilities that await a good athlete that happens to be a free lunch kid.

While these seem to be two obvious examples, they can be overcome by being creative and showing your free lunch kid athletes that you care about the player/coach relationship.  If the culture/climate of your team works to overcome barriers such as these,  you might just end up with a group of good athletes, willing to be coached.  I know we often say that you don't just pick a player, you also pick their parents.  Coaches sometimes avoid kids because of their poverty baggage and its just easier to pick someone else.  If anything, we need to recognize their talent first and that baggage later.  Our faith in them speaks volumes to a free lunch kid, just like it did for me.

If you are interested in my workshop, follow this link to register.  I feel that topics we will address are real to our area and the kids we serve.  I also feel the responsibility to speak for these kids because I used to be one.  If you have any questions about the workshop feel free to contact me at ccass810@gmail.com.