I guess what I'm really trying to do is rattle the cage--is there any life inside? Last week I sounded the alarm bell regarding graffiti, having had first hand experience at the damage it can cause. I researched the Main Street Approach that the Gig Harbor Waterfront Association is implementing in their efforts to revitalize the downtown area and incorporated it into, what I thought was, a well thought out strategy to address the problem. I just knew that the article would mobilize the entire city and I would probably be the only part-time resident to ever get his own float at the next Gig Fest Parade. But, it's been a week--not a comment, not a thank you for caring/sharing--not a peep. So I'm moving on.
What is up with Gig Harbor High School Sports? Having a son who went to a high school that has more alumni in the NFL (60+) than any other high school in the country, I'm used to a community that is passionate about their high school sports. I decided to go to the Gig Harbor High School website where I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a page devoted to the Gig Harbor Tides Sports Boosters. It's actually a really slick page developed (maybe even donated) by the Jensen Media Group. There's a rolling banner of very cool pictures of local scenes, athletes, cheerleaders, and fans in addition to links on the left side of the page to Fall, Winter, and Spring sports as well as Cheer/Dance. Unfortunately, it's not a precursor of what's to come. When you click on, for example, Fall Sports/Football you'll see Adobe pdf's of the 2011/12 schedule that ended about 22 months ago. The same is true for the rest of the Fall Sports (i.e., Boy's Tennis, Girl's Soccer, Cross Country, Girl's Swim & Dive, and Volleyball). When you select Winter Sports you get the same. However, when you go to Spring Sports or the Cheer/Dance link it's even worse--it's TBD, Coming Soon, and Check Back Later.
Come on, we can do better than that! First off, kudos to the folks who got this started. The website and concept is great. There was a vision when this site was created and it's clear that those who started it wanted to celebrate the active sons and daughters of the local community who are involved in representing their school via involvement in a physical activity. There's an even-handedness to the site--equal attention across the board. Cross Country runners are going to get the same coverage as the football players. But, to faithfully fill the content, write stories, and take pictures of all the sports and athletes represented by those links would require that several people quit their full-time jobs and devote 40+ hours a week if they really wanted to do it right.
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However, there is a way to not only provide the information needed to populate the Gig Harbor Tides Sports Boosters Website but also provide an interactive learning tool for Gig Harbor High School Students. Integrate the content requirement of this website into the curriculum for students in the English and Photography Classes. If not the regular curriculum, then an extra credit curriculum. If not that, then start a photo journalism class using this website as a real-life working palette for the students to write stories, conduct interviews, and capture the drama of live sports in picture. It's not that complicated and guess what--the newly created working journalists and photographers, the athletes, the school and the community will love it!
Dwight S. Wilson is an aerospace engineer, freelance writer, and part-time Gig Harbor resident.