Thankful for all youth athletic programs in Pahrump

It's that time of year where you get to hear from people on what they are thankful for. You can be thankful that my list is not long. I am not going to read to you my usual laundry list of things that I have accumulated over the years, rather I am going to list things that I am thankful for as the number one sports fan in Pahrump.

So let's start with my favorite sport, football. I am going to start with being thankful for the health of our football program. I am thankful for all the dedicated football coaches from Pop Warner, to the middle school and of course at the high school level for without all of them we would not have the opportunity to watch all the talented kids that play the game.

I am also not just thankful that they are there, rather I am thankful that they are all working together at different levels to build a successful football program in our area.

Our football coaches put in the extra effort. The high school football coaches actually watch the Pop Warner games and middle school games. That's dedication. The high school also makes it a point to share their play book with the coaches of the younger divisions.

OK, before we continue, I am thankful for all the sports we have in the valley -- just in case I get any flak for not mentioning any sport.

We should all be thankful for a successful AYSO program. Hundreds of soccer players come out to play AYSO soccer. One person told me that AYSO numbers are up around 500-600 players in our valley. That is great. I would rather have those kids playing soccer than watching video games. So we must be thankful for all the volunteers that make that happen.

I think this year we should be thankful in general to the coaches who also coach girls volleyball. The middle does a great job preparing the girls to play at the high school level and then the high school level keeps on returning to the playoffs.

I am also thankful for our little league and youth softball teams. In our valley these programs have come a long way and this is apparent in the quality of our softball and baseball teams at the high school level.

As a whole, our valley must keep building youth sports. We must be thankful that we have the coaches in all sports who dedicate their time to building programs for the health of our kids. Yes, we would like all the programs to be successful and win high school championships, but I think if we are just getting our kids out of the house and onto a field or court, that is success.

From what I hear, obesity is a big problem and just keeping the youth of America healthy is a challenge.

Let's all take the time to be thankful for the parents who take the time to get involved with their kids.

Parents play a big role in this problem. If a child sees dad and mom spending hours on the computer or watching TV then they see this as a positive thing. How can they not? Monkey see, monkey do.

I guess if we want to keep our health costs down then we have to get the kids outdoors and off the computer and video games.

-Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @vernheepvt