Go Friday Night

Record keeping

It is the early morning hours of February 16th, 2008. I can’t sleep so here I am doing what I do worst, blogging. I have traveled quite a lot in 2008 with my job. Is that why I can’t sleep? Maybe. Most likely it was the two bowls of homemade chili I ate a few hours earlier.

My recent travels have led me to a couple of places that have me reflecting about the past. Over the course of a couple of weeks I was able to stop in Fort Hancock and Marathon. Both communities have rich histories in Six-Man football. If you are reading this, most likely you are aware that these two schools achieved long winning streaks and multiple championships. Stating the obvious, both schools had great players and coaches during their “glory� years. I can’t help but wonder but if one of those schools might have fielded the “best team ever� or perhaps the “best player ever�? Wonder as I might, those are questions that can’t be answered. Sure, they are fun to kick around. At best, one can compare records. Actually, you can only compare records when records are kept.

Anyone care to guess where I might be going with this? Did you say record keeping? Man! You guys and gals are sharp. Sharpest people ever?

There is an old saying. Records are made to be broken. I wonder how many records have been broken that we don’t know about? What am I talking about? I believe there are likely records that have been broken but because the one who broke the record did not have someone thoughtful enough to record their achievement, we don’t know it even happened.

Who keeps the stats at your school? How accurate are those stats? What makes it an official record? First and foremost, records must be recorded. The more accurate they are the better. In case you can’t tell, I am for record keeping. What difference does it make if records are kept or not? The biggest thing it does is your player will have something to play for. A goal to shoot at if you will.

With all that said, even if the stats kept are 100 percent accurate, the question will always come up as to who was or is the best ever. Record keeping will not settle that kind of question. But still, coaches owe it to their players to record the stats.

I am going back to bed now.

Don Hardin
txsixii@yahoo.com

• February 16, 2008 5:53 AM