Soccer at the harbor

Talk is cheap. So while the struggle for more Newport Beach soccer

fields rages and depends more than ever on the kindness of Costa

Mesa, the Newport Beach City Council sits on its hands.

There cannot be any doubt that each member of the Newport Beach

City Council, if asked, would support the notion that they are

friendly to families and, if asked, would also tell anyone within

earshot of the importance of investing in our children and of doing

things that will make them healthy in both body and mind.

But instead of looking at Marinapark as a way to walk the walk,

officials likely will turn the land into a revenue center, some cash

register to take advantage of the prime location. That a hotel was

voted down is good, but no other facility has been agreed upon yet.

One suggestion was made in this space on July 26.

The idea was offered almost in passing, as a way for some of the

youth soccer players of Newport Beach to see the adults in their

community start taking charge. It was a way for everyone to see that

the civic leaders weren’t just talking about how important kids are,

but actually doing something to support that claim.

It was also meant to be a big step toward self-sufficiency --

toward relying less on the temperament of a growing group of Costa

Mesa residents who do not see Newport Beach contributing their fair

share to the soccer solution, either in dollars or dirt.

But now, after a few discussions and after reviewing that column

several times, it is clear that the city of Newport Beach got off way

too easy. Instead of trying to be a peacemaker and gently nudging the

city toward the right move, those words should have made a few people

mad. The column should have called the City Council and any other

decision-makers hypocrites and money-grubbers if they did not install

soccer fields in Marinapark.

There are other reasons too, some of which were mentioned on July

26. Since then, I have had lunch with Robert Skversky, a bariatric

physician with an office in Newport Beach.

Bariatrics, in case you did not know, is the treatment of weight

disorders. In Skversky’s practice, he provides special solutions for

weight loss for adults. He knows what he’s talking about.

Skversky also knows my thoughts about the sick and hypocritical

mixed messages we send to our children. He knows what I believe: that

our society talks big about the need for child and adolescent weight

control, but that it works very hard to keep our kids fat and lazy.

We feed them fatty foods, either at home or at drive-through

restaurants. We allow them to watch hours of TV each day, during

which they see commercials encouraging them to eat garbage. And we

don’t set a proper example of diet and exercise.

Skversky knows more than I do about this stuff, and when he says

that diet and exercise aren’t always the answer, I believe him.

Kids have different weight issues. The big one for most, is, as

Skversky said, peer pressure.

But now we’ve got kids in Newport Beach who want to exercise, who

want to get outside and play. They want to do all the things we

encourage them to do but do not support with our actions.

Now, Newport Beach has a grand opportunity to show soccer kids and

their parents just how important they are, and at the same time, move

out a bit from under the thumb of the powers that be in Costa Mesa.

Now it’s time for Newport Beach to ante up.Turn Marinapark into

soccer fields. And if you don’t, if you go for the bucks instead of

the kids, don’t go crying to Costa Mesa about your lack of field

time.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident. Readers may leave a

message for him at (714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to

[email protected].

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