Tweets that led to a Crestview High School cross country team member's dismissal reminded me of how much and how little things have changed since I was a high school athlete in the mid-1970s.

SINS KEPT QUIET

Back in my day, we didn’t have cable, the internet or social media. A friend was someone whom we knew pretty well and, that in turn, also knew us well.

We didn’t count our friends by the number of people we knew on Facebook because Facebook was still some 30 years away from coming into existence. And we weren’t concerned with how many people followed us on Twitter or Instagram.

One could argue that our youthful sins and mistakes were kept private because the world wasn’t watching our every word or action.

That’s not to say young people didn’t get in trouble and that high school athletes never got caught doing something wrong. But it was a little easier to keep our little corner of the world in our little corner.

Even so, athletes of my generation, and every generation before and after, have always been looked to as role models.

Maybe it isn’t fair that a young man or woman’s actions are more scrutinized because they can run faster, jump higher or throw a ball farther than their classmates. But like it or not, athletes have been held as a standard for behavior on and off the field of play.

NO CHOICE

Former Auburn University and National Basketball Association great Charles Barkley has long claimed, “I'm not a role model.”

What Barkley and so many athletes at every level fail to realize is that they have no choice in being a role model.

It’s not just the superstar athlete who has to live up to a higher standard. Every young man and woman who puts on school colors is being watched by at least one set of young eyes.

I only played high school football for two years and ran track for one year. The first year I played football, I got into one game for exactly two plays.

The following summer, I was working at an old full-service gas station, and a boy of 9 or 10 came up to me and said, “I know who you are. You’re a Dolphin football player.”

I’ve never forgotten that day and the lesson I learned: that even a third-teamer is a role model.

Nobody has to tell me that athletes and coaches aren’t perfect, and I don’t expect them to be. But they are held to a higher standard.

When one steps into the arena of competition, like it or not, they become somebody’s role model — with all the responsibilities that go with that unwanted position.

Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Like it or not, athletes are role models

It’s often easy for fans and sports writers to get caught up in streaks.

I’m as guilty as anyone in pointing out that a team has won 15 games in a row, or another team hasn’t beaten a certain opponent since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

We praise winning streaks and then, like vultures hoping for road kill, anticipate when those streaks might end. Sometimes, we even muddy the lines that differentiate between sports, drawing comparisons where there is none to be made.

Those of us in the media understand that there are times when the sensational headline draws readers or page views. Most of us try to stay in the bounds of journalistic integrity, but even the best might push the envelope when trying to find the best angle for a story or column.

In reality, no streak, good or bad, is quite what it might seem. High school and college level teams have a complete turnover every three or four years. And no team is the same from one year to the next as players graduate, transfer or have injuries that force them to give up their sport.

There is a yearly turnover even in professional sports.

Bad teams cut players and bring in new players, trying to reach a level of competitiveness. Good teams do the same thing, trying to reach a level of greatness. And great teams make changes trying to stay ahead of the competition.

It is a never-ending circle for teams trying to get to the top and then trying to stay on top.

The problem is we fail to recognize the difference between a team and the school or professional organization that team represents. We also forget that no two teams are the same from one year to the next.

I think it’s OK to put pressure on professional teams and athletes, pointing out how long it has been since, say, the Oakland Raiders won a championship or how many consecutive losing seasons they’ve had.

I see nothing wrong with pointing out that Florida Gators football team has problems on offense this year. I don’t have problems with addressing bad coaching hires a college or professional team makes.

I shouldn’t be so quick to put the burden of history — good or bad — on the shoulders of high school student-athletes trying to play their sport and represent their school.Yes, school traditions mean something and every athlete should strive to uphold their school’s winning ways or break the bondage of losing.

But at the end of the day, they are just high school kids.

We will always make comparisons because it is human nature. I know, in the future, I’ll write about winning and losing streaks. But I hope I’ll do so in a way that reflects the realization that no streak, good or bad, should be placed entirely of the shoulders of the current generation of athletes.

EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, randyd@crestviewbulletin.com,  follow him on Twitter @BigRandle or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Streaks are not always what they seem

As we hit the midway point in the high school football season, there is still a lot of ball to be played.

Crestview High School is off to a disappointing 0-4 start. But believe me, nobody is more disappointed than Bulldog Coach Tim Hatten. He is doing everything he can in his vast coaching knowledge and experience to right the ship and get things back on track.

I’m confident Hatten will get the job done, but fans need to be patient. The Bulldogs have been hit by some injuries that have left the Crestview coaches trying to fill in key pieces to what is often a complicated puzzle.

Hatten won’t play the injury card, but it’s hard for me to imagine that Crestview would be winless if JaQuan Daniels and Derian McGee where healthy.

While most local high schools have a similar amount of talent physically, there is a lot more to the game of football than size and strength. Sometimes it’s just a matter of kids figuring things out on their own before good things happen.

In reality, the Bulldogs play a two-game season when they face District 1-7A opponents Tate and Niceville. A win over either team and, at worst, Crestview is back in a shootout for a spot in the playoffs.

Baker, on the other hand, continues to ride a wave that now includes a 14-game winning streak.

The Gators are 3-0 coming off an open date and host Rocky Bayou Christian on Friday before opening district play at home against Freeport a week from Friday.

There is no reason to believe Baker won’t be 4-0 when Freeport comes calling. As I look at the remainder of the Gator schedule, I can easily see them being 8-0 when they host Northview on Halloween night.

If my predictions are correct, the winner of the Baker-Northview game will win the District 1-1A championship. Quite frankly, if the Gators or the Chiefs don’t win the district championship, it will be more than a surprise.

Baker Coach Matt Brunson has the Gators playing at a high level. Brunson, himself a former Gator, understands the Gator players' mindset and what it takes to win at Baker.

Baker players have bought into what Brunson wants to do with everything from the offensive and defensive schemes to how they condition.

It has been 21 years since the Gators won the last of their four state championships. All eyes are on the 2014 Gators to see if this is the year they return to glory.

With a little more than half the season remaining, it will be interesting to see if Crestview can find a way to win and if anyone can stop Baker.

It should be a fun seven weeks until the end of the regular season.

EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @BigRandle or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Assessing the 2014 football season thus far

I grew up in a day when football, especially high school football, was played in the trenches.

The 1970s' glamour formations were the Power I and Wishbone T. Teams won by pounding the rock and pounding the opposition into submission.

It was a slower, more conservative approach to football in a slower, more conservative time in society.

Those of us old enough to remember the 1970s remember a time before personal computers, iPads, iPhones and when a tablet was some form of a notebook with paper rather than another electronic device. We recall a time before cable, satellite television and the Internet made news cycles a 24-7 business.

 Back in the day, you were lucky if your favorite college team was on TV more than a couple of times a season. And, if you were like me, a Tennessee fan living in Florida, on a clear autumn or winter night, you would try to pick up the broadcast of your favorite team on an AM radio station 500 miles away.

On those rare occasions today when a Tennessee football or basketball game isn’t on TV, I still might be able to watch it on my computer or cell phone. At worst, I can listen to the podcast.

Yes, it’s more convenient and I’m always in the loop, but there was something magical about hearing John Ward, the Voice of the Volunteers, over the static of a broadcast coming to me from so many miles away. My teenage boy’s imagination could run wild as we listened to the exploits of Stanley Morgan, Larry Seivers and Andy Spiva in their starring roles for the Vols.

Today, the power football of my youth is still around in some vague form at the high school level. But even traditional running teams like Baker School have taken an up tempo approach to the game.

Many offenses have abandoned the huddle as they concentrate on getting the play off in 20 seconds or so. Football seems to have become a fast break sport that reflects our fast break times.

Offenses still try to control the clock and wear down the defense only now they do it by trying to run the other team into the ground rather than pound it into submission.

I miss pure power football and the old three yards and a cloud of dust mentality that many coaches embraced.

In its simplest and purest form football remains a game of hitting, with the team that plays with the best pad level and leverage usually winning. Yes, some teams prefer a pass first attack to the run, but in most games it’s the team that runs the ball the best that wins.

I miss power football and an old AM broadcast across crackling air waves of my favorite team.

Things were simpler then, and, in my opinion, better in some ways as well.

EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @BigRandle or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Reflecting on simpler times

Today, Sept. 10, would have been my parents’ 59th wedding anniversary. As many of you know, my dad, Jim Dickson, passed away a little more than a year ago. So this day has become more of reflection than celebration as I think of the life Dad shared with my mom, Joan.

Looking back to the time I was growing up, Mom and Dad were like so many parents then and now. Dad coached youth league baseball and basketball. Mom helped work the concession stand and was the de facto team nurse for many years.

I am the only son with three sisters, and athletic opportunities were not as readily available to girls during the 1960s and 70s as they are today. Most games the family attended were those in which I played or Gulf Breeze High School games.

My parents were season ticket holders to Dolphin games for a number of years. Their seats were next to those of their best friends, Wilber and Louise Deer.

Only as an adult have I come to realize the sacrifices not only my parents, but most parents make: to be at games and support their children or the school those children attend.

I’m sure most dads would like sit back and relax after a long day at work, but so many take the time to throw a ball or shoot baskets with their sons or daughters. Those parents understand and choose to invest in their children.

Many times, an evening meal gets cold or stays in the oven while a mom or dad is coaching a youth team. Some nights, they grab a bucket of chicken or a bag of burgers at the local fast food place. But that’s OK because they are investing in the lives not only of their children, but the lives of children who might not have a role model at home.

I know there are single moms and dads out there trying to do their best to provide for their children and still make time to volunteer for youth sports.

We honor our mothers each year on the second Sunday in May. We honor our fathers on the third Sunday in June.

I really hope we honor our parents every day, whether or not we still have them with us.

Maybe we can have some sort of Sports Parents’ Day, on which we could celebrate all that moms and dads do to coach and promote youth sports.

But I don’t know if the idea would go over too well, because at the end of the day, most parents will tell you it’s all about the kids.

EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @BigRandle or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Parents' investments go deep