All sports are not created equal. That is the simple fact of life.

It is no one’s fault. It is not a reason to bash anyone over the head or rake anyone over the coals.

There is no call to clamor about mistreatment of one group of athletes versus another.

What there is, however, is room to step in and help.

That is exactly what happened over the last several months with the Demopolis High Softball Booster Club.

The group has always been a passionate set of parents, always wanting the best for their daughters.

With proper guidance from a handful of individuals, that passion produced something very good this time around.

The 2011 Demopolis High School softball team will enjoy something its predecessors never did when it steps into its own locker room before and after games.

The new locker room is adorned with “Lady Tigers” above the lockers, complete with a three-dimensional look.

The handmade wooden lockers feature a metal nameplate for each player above the appropriate cubby hole that also boasts the athlete’s number.

In the middle of the room is a training table with a padded top, perfect for tending to the injuries and ailments that often accompany a game whose title is more delicate than its mechanics.

Above one set of lockers is a DHS Tigers emblem in blue with white letters and an orange tiger sprawled atop it.

On either side of the door are aluminum bats that have split open and mounted to the wall, a nice decorative touch for the facility.

In the far end of the room is the facility’s weight training area, something the team has needed for quite some time.

The locker room opens in one part right to the field and in another to the batting cage area, giving the Demopolis High School softball team one of the nicest homes for any prep athletic team in the area.

It is something the Demopolis High School softball players could and should be proud of as they carry on with their daily activities.

But it was made possible largely because of the efforts of a passionate group of supportive individuals.

That is the key with anything involving young people.

From sports teams to band to theater, the guided, appropriate involvement of parents can only improve the environment for everyone involved.

Not all teams have the same funding because not all teams have the same needs. But all teams have players. And players have parents.

And if those parents truly desire to see the circumstances for their children improved, the answer is simple. Get involved.

The Demopolis High soccer parents have become more and more involved. The football parents established the quarterback club. The softball parents formed a booster club. And the baseball moms and dads long ago set out on a path to support their sons’ athletic endeavors.

In this era of proration it is impossible for public school leaders to provide everything their students desire.

But the focused involvement of parents can provide great supplement to what has been established.

Jeremy D. Smith is the community editor of The Demopolis Times.