My name is Kyle Ruehlman and I believe that sports reduce violence and builds character. So in Cincinnati there is one high school called Withrow High School. Now, Withrow is a part in Cincinnati where 90 percent of the kids come from very low-income families, and life in a part where violence is apart of the everyday lifestyle.
Withrow is in the same conference as the school I’m from which is Milford, which means we have to play them 2 times every season. Now I’m gonna give you one little statistic on Withrow baseball.
Withrow has won only 2 games in 4 years. Now this is where my story with Withrow starts. Like I said before we play them 2 times every season but every time we play them my view changes every time. See Withrow doesn’t care if they are winning and losing, they could be down 30 runs, which has happened before, and still be having the time of their lives, all because they are playing a game and being kept busy.
I remember one time I was talking to one of the players on Withrow, we were up by 16 runs, and he looked at me with a smile and said, “well, this beats prison…”, now at first I laughed because I knew he was just telling a joke, but after that inning I stopped and thought to myself, he may have just been joking around and trying to make light of the 16 run deficit they had, but he was right actually.
A lot of these kids could easily be off committing crimes and doing stuff they shouldn’t be doing, but no, they chose to not get involved in that stuff and do something in their life that will actually help them and not hurt them.
Being on a sports team or a part of a sport not only can keep you out of trouble but it also teaches you important skills in life. They teach you to be responsible, disciplined, and teach you how to be sociable. I can say from experience that having the right coach, the one who actually cares about you and wants to see the best in you, can really make a huge impact in your life.
The right coach should be able to teach what’s right from wrong not only in the sport but also in life, and that’s one thing I think Withrow was lucky to have. For some of those kids they don’t have a father figure, but the one thing they did have was a coach that not only acted like a coach but also was like a father to most of those kids.
With that coach I think that those kids lives have changed dramatically, and have changed their views on life in many many different ways.
My name is Kyle Ruehlman and that is why I believe sports reduce violence and build character.
Kyle Ruehlman
Contributing Writer