For parents (and other relatives), the Friday calamity in Canada represented some of their worst fears realized. The travel requirements necessary in the world of competitive youth sports are a sad Achilles heel in an otherwise laudable endeavor. The junior league hockey team whose vehicle was struck by a big rig had no chance, apparently. Now, 14 people are dead, 14 more are injured, some severely. There's really no answer to the situation. Competitive youth teams must travel. So must high school and college teams. There's no getting around it. But, when something like Friday's awful event occurs, it does bring the subject back up in a very stark way. Horrible.
