They say school athletics is as much about building a young person's character as developing prowess on the field.
But there are those with doubts-especially when you consider some of the antics of a relatively few players off the field.
That fact is bad behavior makes the news while good deeds often get overlooked.
Not this week, though.
In Wednesday's Cass County Life, a regional page in this newspaper (http://bit.ly/2nsD67Z), we carried a story about something you don't see every day. Something that kind of brings a cheer to your heart.
The Kaufman, Texas, track and field team participated in the Runnin' Rabb Relays last Saturday in Atlanta.
But it's not what they did on the field that we want to talk about here. It's what they did after the meet that got our attention-and that of a lot of other folks as well.
Before heading home, members of the team took to the bleachers and picked up trash left by spectators.
It was a big job. The stands were packed for the meet and a lot of folks left litter behind.
Why did they do it?
It's just part of the program in Kaufman. Track Coach Jeff Lester said all the teams there do it, adding that it helps the kids learn "no one's too good to pick up trash or do something for someone else."
This isn't something the school forces on the athletes, something they do with a grimace and grumble. No, they had a hand in deciding to start the cleanup tradition. That says a lot.
Yes, they say school athletics is as much about building a young person's character as developing prowess on the field. We say that's just what's happening in Kaufman, Texas.
