The New York Times airs the dirty secret of high school sports. There's the old coach's tale that high school coaches far and wide trumpet how their athletes are learning how to be fit for life. Then there's the reality where most of them aren't learning life skills but are instead engaged in something which they cannot sustain and aren't learning much useful in the process. That does not mean, however, that school districts strapped for money will consider cutting athletic budgets anytime soon.