Victorino steps up for Hawaii high schools

Here's a quick note courtesy of the New York Times. It seems the Philadelphia Phillies' own Shane Victorino has a soft spot for high school sports. Earlier this month, ponied up $10,000 to help the cash-strapped Hawaii High School Athletic Association, which in the midst of the state's budget cuts has started a fundraising drive to facilitate high school teams' travel costs and prevent school districts from adopting a pay-to-play system.

High school sports have been hammered by the economy all across the county, but few places more so than Hawaii. There, teams must frequently travel by boat or plane to play away games. (And you thought Hanover's two-hour trek to play Line Mountain was rough...)

The HHSAA's fund-raising drive, called Save Our Sports (S.O.S), has raised $700,000 so far, according to the Times. It's goal is to raise $1.2 million.

"You shouldn't have to pay to play as a kid," Victorino told the Times.

Using private donations as a means to combat a pay-to-play scenario is an interesting idea. Then again, not sure such a scheme would work in many states.