Don’t just look at the score, dig deeper for the hidden story

The score, that’s usually what tells people the story. Sports fanatics use the end results to form their own opinion about a team, but does it tell everything?

Of course not, Monday’s two scores from the baseball and the softball teams don’t even begin to tell you the story. To get the real story you have to dig a bit deeper.

This can also apply to life. In other words people have to dig below the surface to get the problem and then they have to care enough to do something about it. Look for more information, especially when the safety of kids are concerned. This deal with the baseball field is one of those things where every parent involved with the high school should be demanding more information.

Let’s look at the scores first.

For instance, the 6-0 girls score only begins to scratch the surface. Yes, it tells us who won and to some, that may be all they care about, but for those who follow the team, they usually want more.

The softball team is coming off two wins where they pummeled Clark with 23 runs and 11 hits on Thursday. The team then took out Boulder City on Saturday, 9-0.

The girls should hold their heads up high even after Monday’s loss to Spring Valley. The girls fought hard by holding the Grizzlies to a 0-0 tie through five innings. I really think they were playing as hard as they could for as long as they could. They went to the breaking point in that game.

The same could be said about the boys score of 3-1. At face value, they lost, but the score does not tell of the heroic efforts made by Pahrump to stay in the game.

Josh Mortensen pitched a fantastic game. He allowed one run in the first, one in the fifth and one in the sixth. Just by looking at that of course you miss the rest of the story.

In the top of the third great pitching and a combination of great defense got him out of a bind. The Grizzlies loaded the bases on three well-placed bunts, no outs. Then the fourth hitter whacks the ball to center fielder, Dylan Ault, made a perfect throw to the plate to get the out. Mortensen then gets a strikeout and then a fly to center to end the inning and no runners crossed the plate.

In both softball and baseball it was a team effort. The defense and the pitching worked together to keep both teams within striking distance. The scores only tell us one team lost. You have to dig to get how the loss happened.

The baseball field is a story where you have to dig for information. On the surface it sounds like the district and the parents have come to agreement, but that’s only on the surface. There is much more to it than that.

Like the pitching and the defense the community must work with the school district to resolve the safety issues on the baseball field. The community must also dig deeper for the full story to keep the kids safe.

The community has to come together to get the work needed done. The school district has come out and said there is no money to do the work. The school district already admitted that they had to cut funds and this led to the neglect of the baseball field.

It’s the school district’s responsibility to approve and to come up with a plan because the school district is liable and has the responsibility to keep the kids safe, but the community must come out and meet them halfway. It’s a shared responsibility.

The community oversees the district to make sure that the field is safe for our children. In other words, it keeps an a watchful eye out. Like all governing bodies, there must be checks and balances and the community is just that. The community must come together and to watch over what the district does.

The school district may not like it. Who likes being scrutinized? But it’s something they are used to, being in the public eye.

Hopefully in the next couple of months the parents and the school district can agree on what is necessary to make the baseball field safe and free from holes, but this is something that should be going on now. Let’s not wait until a kid is seriously injured.

Now after admitting that, which was done at the last school board meeting, a plan must be developed to correct the situation. Who is responsible for the plan? That falls in the district hands. The parents can give input, but the planning is up to the school district.

As this drama unfolds, parents are lining up to give their input. According to the parents, one baseball player is already out for the season with a knee injury. Whether or not the injury was from the field or not is not really the question. Just the hint of someone being hurt on the field is enough to act on.

I know the school administration and the school district will come up with a plan. Player safety is important to them. Cooler heads will prevail.