Thoughts on Sunday sports play.

[Clark Addison]

Fortunately, none of my kids have been coordinated enough to make traveling teams.

My son played baseball for a couple of years in a league that had occasional games on Sunday afternoons (around here, the Sabbath ends around noon). After talking to him about it, we decided he wouldn't play in the Sunday games. The decision was obviously influenced by his parents. I'm not sure if that was the right decision, and I have no problem with people making up their own mods on this, but I felt it was one way to separate Sunday from the rest of the week. I did not want the only difference between Sunday and other days to be that he had to sit through church on Sundays.

[SteelBlue]

The first swim meet I competed in on a Sunday, I set a meet record. I considered that a blessing for doing an appropriate Sunday activity.

I knew I liked you.

[RC Vikings]

I think there is probably more of a correlation with athletes being less active in the church than nerd types.

I think 71 has a good point here.

[SteelBlue]

I think there is probably more of a correlation with athletes being less active in the church than nerd types.

If there's one thing I've learned on these message boards over the years it's this: There is no such thing as too much byu71.

[The_Tick]

My oldest just finished up 10 years of soccer, that last 4 on club. Fortunatly our league only played twice a year on Sunday. We also play in the Las Vegas Premier tourney. So 3 a year max.

We would have left the decision up to my daughter though. And we would have supported her either way.

Too many other things to worry about.

[Indy Coug]

If there's one thing I've learned on these message boards over the years it's this: There is no such thing as too much byu71.

I've also learned you can never have too much sarcasm. It is the proverbial Elixir of Life.

[Shaka]

I now of areas in the USA that play most of their youth sports on Sunday. If I had to live in one of these areas I certainly wouldn't deprive my kids of an opportunity to compete. I would figure out some other way to compensate for the two or three hours of sabbath breaking. Of course it would help if I had kids.

Growing up in SLC the only time I had to play on Sunday was an out of state American Legion baseball tourney and a couple of hockey games.

As a sports official I will occassionaly travel out of state for a regional tourney. Almost all of the tourneys held outside of Utah play on Sunday. I do not think it's a big deal for a kid to play a Sunday game in a tourney like these. Sometimes when you're in Rome you have to do as the Romans do.

[KillerDog]

This is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about. My parents' rules for appropriate Sunday behavior made sense as a kid but as I got older it became apparent that they were completely random and arbitrary. For example, why would it be OK to play board games but not sports with your siblings on Sunday. As a result, my wife and I have discussed it extensively. I don't see why it would be inappropriate to compete in sporting events on Sunday. If you also attend enough church to maintain activity, I don't see how competing in sporting events every Sunday would be inappropriate. I think the arbitrary Sabbath rules tend to make us sound crazy to those who are outside our faith and I don't think they are given from God. I suspect Sabbath rules have more to do with men wanting to exercise control over other men than they do with God wanting worship.

[il Padrino Ute]

I've also learned you can never have too much sarcasm. It is the proverbial Elixir of Life.

You think?

[Jarid in Cedar]

This is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about. My parents' rules for appropriate Sunday behavior made sense as a kid but as I got older it became apparent that they were completely random and arbitrary. For example, why would it be OK to play board games but not sports with your siblings on Sunday. As a result, my wife and I have discussed it extensively. I don't see why it would be inappropriate to compete in sporting events on Sunday. If you also attend enough church to maintain activity, I don't see how competing in sporting events every Sunday would be inappropriate. I think the arbitrary Sabbath rules tend to make us sound crazy to those who are outside our faith and I don't think they are given from God. I suspect Sabbath rules have more to do with men wanting to exercise control over other men than they do with God wanting worship.

winner winner chicken dinner

[Shaka]

I think the arbitrary Sabbath rules tend to make us sound crazy to those who are outside our faith and I don't think they are given from God. I suspect Sabbath rules have more to do with men wanting to exercise control over other men than they do with God wanting worship.

Not only do they think it sometimes it affects them in a negative way. The leagues that host these tourneys outlay a lot of money to do so. They recoup their costs in attendence fees and concessions. When a Utah team refuses to play their game on Sunday they cost the host league this money. The they were scheduled to play also loses out because they do not get to play a game. Oftentimes these teams have traveled a considerable distance. In my tourneys we get teams from as far away as Guam and Hawaii. Most of the time it gets out that a majority of the Utah team is LDS and our reputation suffers.

[New Mexican Disaster]

With the caveat that it's a small sample size, in wards I have lived, kids that played on a significant number of Sundays drifted away from church. The two girls that did it got pregnant by the age of 18 .

So all the horny young men should hang around softball diamonds on Sundays and hope some of that action rubs off on them?

[Jarid in Cedar]

So all the horny young men should hang around softball diamonds on Sundays and hope some of that action rubs off on them?

Well played!