Disc golf gives children the opportunity to think outside the XBox

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October 30, 2010

Disc golf gives children the opportunity to think outside the XBox

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Sat Oct 30, 2010, 03:30 AM EDT

ONEONTA _ Hunter Allen is someone to look up to.

Despite being 11 years old, Hunter seems to be wise beyond his years in certain aspects of life. A sixth-grader at Center Street Elementary in Oneonta, Hunter was one of more than 30 people to take part in the area's first disc golf tournament last Sunday at Fortin Park.

The Oneonta Rotary Open served partly as a fundraiser toward building a permanent course at Fortin Park. It also gave some area residents a chance to see what the sport is all about. Players came from the Capital District, Syracuse and as far away as New Jersey to take part.

There were even three professionals who came to play.

The tournament seemed interesting enough to play in, so I plodded along through 36 holes Sunday. The sport is like regular golf, with the discs serving as the balls and chain baskets as the holes.

Don't get it confused with regular Frisbee, however. Some players carry upwards of 20 discs that do different things _ from curving one way or another to discs made for longer and shorter distances.

I got a lesson in the second round of 18 as I played alongside Hunter and Scotland native Andrew Cooper, a West Davenport resident.

With that, Hunter gave me hope for future generations.

In a society where video games and computers seem to be more of the norm than kids getting outside and playing for hours on end, Hunter was a refreshing change.

Playstations, XBoxes and computers weren't around when I grew up.

Neighborhood kids would get together on free days and spend countless hours outdoors playing baseball or football, riding bikes or exploring the woods and rivers. We would do this in all weather conditions, and by the time we tromped home at the end of the day, we were exhausted.

We had things such as Ataris and an early generation Nintendos that we'd play at times, but being outdoors was more fun.

No adults. No rules. Just kids being kids.

That was Hunter on Sunday. Active, fun and, at times, a bit impatient. He was proof that fun doesn't always have to come in store-bought packages. Toting his discs around in a plastic bag, Hunter explained how he planned to throw each one. More often than not, his predictions came true.

He'd run ahead to look for errant throws, make sure the fairways were open so we could shoot and show energy that would be worth millions if it came in bottles.

Hunter has a competitive edge, too, and was always wondering who was winning and how others were doing. He'd show frustration at times when his shots didn't go as planned, but that was soon forgotten when his next shot did what he wanted it to do.

The entire time, he had that youthful exuberance and a wide smile.

It's my hope that enough money is raised to make this course a reality. The game is inexpensive and a good way for parents and kids to get out and do something together _ as Hunter and his father, Tracy, did during Saturday's clinic and Sunday's tournament.

I did get the last laugh, however, as I beat the youngster by six strokes in the second round (even though he outdrove me on virtually every hole).

If Hunter sticks with this game, though, I anticipate he'll be whipping me before too long. Then I'll look back on this round and wonder how it happened.

And that will mean he's still outside throwing discs and staying active.

That's good for Hunter and the future.

P.J. Harmer is a sports writer for The Daily Star. E-mail him at pharmer@thedailystar.com.