Water Cooler Conversations

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC 

This past weekend the Mentor Cardinal High School football team played in the State Championship game.  I am from Mentor and was very excited about the team and the prospects of these young athletes bringing home the State Championship trophy.  This is the second year that the team made the championship game, which is no small feat for any school of any size.  Unfortunately the team from Cincinnati won the championship but the Cardinal players can certainly keep their heads high for they accomplished much on the football field over the past two years.

The media picked up on the game and really provided some outstanding press the week prior to the game.  The local Lake County newspaper and Cleveland’s only newspaper published several stories on the Mentor team and even provided front page coverage the day before the event.  All this hoopla made me wonder just a bit:

• Why does football get so much attention at any level versus any other sport?
• Why is the Sports section in newspapers three times the size of the Business section?
• Would a local girls’ high school sports team get the same press if they went to the State title game?  Would they get a school pep rally?  If not, why not?
• What would happen if a local high school’s Academic Decathlon team made it to the State finals? Pep rallies anyone?  Front page news?  If not, why not?

Questions, questions, questions. I have lots of them.  Most of them center around the priorities (and media exposure) we place on athletic competition in this country versus the real competition we all see on a day to day basis in business.

We have great football in this country but we are getting clobbered on a global scale when it comes to academics and kids graduating with science, math and engineering degrees.  China and India are smiling all the way to the bank and will be for some time.  The skills shortage is only going to get significantly worse over the next ten years as many of the Baby Boomers leave the workforce. We better wake up. Soon.

Touchdowns (by high school teams or the Browns) are fun to watch but they are not changing much of anything in the real world. 

We need kids to achieve academically.  If they achieve athletically after that, terrific.

Maybe its time we start refocusing our energies towards academic excellence versus athletic excellence.  If we don’t get our priorities straight soon our businesses are going to run out of plays.

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC     

Recently, I attended a year-end Academic Awards program at the Mentor Public Schools.  I was really impressed when a number of students earned a “Varsity Letter” for their Academic Excellence.  Talk about a WOW!  Perhaps this is also going on in other schools and I am the last one to know.

I do know that when I was in school, Academics came last from the school’s perspective and Athletics took priority when recognizing students.  Incidentally, when I was in school I was not eligible for an Athletic or Academic award so I write this with no “sour grapes” to bear.

As I sat there and applauded the students for their awards it dawned on me that this is what school is all about - prioritizing and recognizing academic excellence.  In this sports crazy world it is no mystery why high academic achievement takes a back seat to organized athletic competition - there is no revenue stream to the schools for academic excellence.  Yet, it is the high achievers in academics that create the backbone for much of our future business and civic leadership (some of which might also have excelled in athletics).

I hope that over the next few years, the kids at Mentor High who earned that Academic Excellence Letter wear it proudly on their new varsity jacket.  Their high school achievements in academics may not make it on to the big screen like “Friday Night Lights” but their achievements to me are much more lasting and exciting.  Go team go!