I love sports.  I always have.  Something about the adrenaline rush of competition really energizes me.  It gives me that famed warm and mushy feeling inside (and a sweaty, pained feeling usually on the outside).  But over the past couple of weeks, I have read that some people, apparently much more experienced and knowledgeable about such things than I, are working to remove from schools one of my all time favorite gym class sports: dodge ball.

Apparently, the idea of picking out "targets" on the other team and throwing rubber balls at them is too violent of a game for today's youth.  Pretty soon, the "targets" become classmates and the rubber balls become bullets.  But I would have to argue that anyone who becomes a killer from playing dodge ball probably has a few screws loose already.

Certainly, something needs to be done about the violence in our school systems.  But I think taking away sports would lead to more problems than it could solve.  If kids cannot release their energy into a sport, a game, then maybe they would be more likely to go beat up someone in the hallway.

I am a product of public schooling.  Less than two years ago, I made my daily journeys from class to class through public high school.  Through my years of education, I have had as much reason to get mad as anyone else.  I was considered to be a bit of a geek (and I still am I suppose), and so I received my share of being picked on.  Sure, it upset me occasionally, but I never considered burning down the school or beating anyone.  My parents taught me much better than that, and I valued their expectations and my own education too much to be expelled from school or arrested.  And, I let God come into school with me; I didn't leave Him at home where the schools and government would apparently like Him to stay.

So now I will have to confess how dodge ball has transformed me into a raging maniac, a violent bully.  But alas, I have defied logic and escaped the damage that the activity supposedly causes.

I apologize if I seem a bit cynical or bitter about this issue, but it irritates me to think that people are becoming more and more fearful of competition of any kind, and I fear dodge ball may become the testing ground.  But it seems that this trend is just another example of shifting the blame for our kids' problems.  We've already blamed parents, teachers, movies, video games, testing, and "the system," and I guess sports are to be the next victim of our blameshifting.

We seek a world where everyone "wins," there are no "losers," and we are all "equal."  But, by eliminating competition from schools and other places, we also take away kids' "motivation," strip them of "effort," and give them ideals which are "unrealistic."  The world is not fair.  Life is full of wins and losses.  At least in gym class, one can lose and still laugh about it.  If only the same could be said for the rest of life.

And while we need to pay attention to the needs of children, we cannot simply provide them aids and boosts for every physical or mental disadvantage they have.  Those kids, as much as any others, need to be encouraged to work hard and strive to accomplish their goals.

Maybe within all of my sports talk, I have failed to mention one crucial thing about my inner-athlete: I'm not very athletic.  My hands are too small, I am too short, and my coordination is -- well, probably the reason I'm a journalist.  But I love the competitive atmosphere, and I think my competitive spirit has given me stronger motivation to succeed and maybe more potential for present and future success.

Take away television and video games from the kids if it is deemed completely necessary.  Better yet, why don't just we do a better job of instilling values and morals in them?  But please, for Pete's sake, don't take away the dodge ball.