KIDSPORTS Continued from Page 10 the volunteer parents Shu and five of her friends were chairpersons of Taste of Eugene this year, which is the largest fund raiser for Kidsports "We had meetings once n weak up until the event, but we had no follow-up meeting afterwards, and we never even got a thunk you note,” Grube said of her most negative experience with Kidsports. "Hut overall. 1 think the promise of Kidsports is a posi tive one." Her husband. Murk, has either been an assistant or bond coach of about 20 different teams in the past six years Mark Grid** is essentially satisfied with the pro gram. hut he also cited a couple of problems from a coaching point of view "There's been a trend lately for Kidsjxirts to have large teams,” he said. ''With the expansion, it's probably for economic reasons. With the larger teams, though, kids don't get to play as much.” Kidsports requires that the coach play each child for a Kidsports-designated amount of time. Although Mark Gruhe lielieves that most coach es are not interested in training programs, he is an ndvor ate of Kidsports cracking down "If cour he# aren't going to listen to the rules, if they violate them, then Kidsports should punish them They really do need to bu< kle down on the i imk lies," Mark Gruhe said. "It's totally bizarre how some of the < (inches net They forget that it's just a game and we're out there to have fun Rob Boehm, an independent contractor (or Kid sports who is the commissioner — meaning tie is m charge of the officials — of basketball and base ball/softball. is confident that most of the people are OK. "Ninety to 95 percent of coaches an* good, rulo nhiding. decent people who are out there for the kids." Boehm said. "It's the other 5 percent who arc* a problem, and when you're only dealing with them, it seems like there are a lot of undesirables out there " Boehm, who has been a referee and coach throughout the different phases of Kidsports since 1972. always tries to avoid any problems by pre game communications with the coac hes "I always tell coac hes before a game that their players, assistant i oaches and sjas tators are a dime t extension of their attitude and that their behavior should he two or three notches above everyone else." Boehm said. Joseph son is a firm believer that the offic rating is part of the unique experience of sports, "depend ing on how tiie referee or umpire is going to inter pret the game on any given day." But his resolve to maintain discipline is foremost on his mind Boehm said the solution lavs in education and time. "There is no magic: button to push to fix every thing — it will just take time." he said. Carrie Vincent is a student of journalism and English nt the l tniversity and has coached and ref ereed for Kidsports ROLLER BLADE RENTALS 2 MRS *4“ SC90 4 HRS. W ALL DAY *10" 199 W. 8th Eug«n« • 464-7344 Vegetarian Burrito OWuie Bear Oeeseo* ««t Meal Com 0 S. '6 Ol Soft Wiffi coupon • Located al Frmh. Fit Famotn Mnkm Food J * A e very effective In fact, solar water heaters can save 35-65% of your water heating costs So it hot water costs are leaving you cold, let Eugene Water & Electric Board put a little sunshine in your life. If you own your home and have electric water heating. EWEH is offering a cash rebate of up to $-400 for installing a solar water heater. Plus, you may also qualify for an Oregon state tax credit of up to $1500. It's the hottest thing going since running water. So if you would like to soak up some solar savings, act now! Funding is limited, so call 484-1125 tcxlay. Ask for information about EWEB's Solar Water Heater Rebate. EWEB Eugene Water & Electric Board 500 East 4th Avenue Eugene. Oregon 97401 503-484-1125