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Parent: Blowout loss was bullying

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by HanSenSE, Oct 22, 2013.

  1. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    My kid once played in a hockey game where his team lost 23-0. If I remember correctly, it was a 30-minute game with a running clock. We just laughed about it - what else can you reasonably do?
     
  2. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    There's no telling what will set off a parent nowadays. Couple of summers ago Podunk High was hosting a 7-on-7 tourney that I drifted out to for a feature and to renew football contacts. Podunk makes the title game, so I run over to the stadium to cover that. A few out of town fans had set up camp on the sidelines. Podunk pulls out the game (running clock) late, and out of towners express their displeasure to the point I thought they were going to atttack the Podunk coach. All I could say to myself is, "It's 7-on-7, not real football!"
     
  3. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    Your spirit lives on in my son.
     
  4. kingcreole

    kingcreole Active Member

    I remember once when Smith Center, Kan., was accused of running up the score during an 83-0 first-round playoff win. The score after the first quarter?

    72-0. How can you run up the score in the first quarter?

    While a Smith Center coach tried to call the state association to see if they could start a running clock in the second quarter instead of waiting to the second half, Smith Center scored again. From that point, Smith Center stopped their drives close to the end zone and just kicked field goals.
     
  5. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    No doubt, the father's filing of a bullying complaint was stupid. But the issue is more than just "why don't they coach 'em up"? I won't link to my BLOG, but there are a lot of factors that made Aledo a 91-point favorite before the two teams even stepped onto the field -- heck, long before any of these kids went to high school. Aledo is a, relatively speaking, well-off area with a single high school in which kids are groomed from age 6 up to dedicate themselves to learning all about how the high school does things so they're ready when they get there. Most parents have the economic means and luxury to allow this to happen.

    Meanwhile, Western Hills has a population in which four out of 10 kids are considered economically disadvantaged -- better than Texas (six out of 10) and Fort Worth (three out of four), but still way higher than Aledo. There is no feeder system, and the population might be too poor and unstable to allow for one. Fort Worth also has the lowest-paid high school coaches in DFW. Years of a lack of tradition and success also hit numbers, with kids wondering, why should I worked this hard to get my ass kicked week after week? Aledo has 70 players, while Western Hills has 30.

    The only reason this game is on the schedule is that the UIL put Aledo in a division with mostly For Worth schools. Granted, Aledo is damn good and crushed strong nondivision teams. But I can't imagine Aledo's coach wants to play a schedule of mostly Western Hills-type teams (Aledo has beaten two other schools 84-7), and I'm sure the Fort Worth teams would rather not play Aledo. There's no way possible for the Fort Worth teams to compete.

    You can say, "Well, the kids should learn that's life," but with three out of four kids in Fort Worth economically disadvantaged, they're getting that lesson good and hard already. Plus, there's a player safety issue, too.
     
  6. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    The high school programs in Western PA laugh at your "economically disadvantaged"
    theory.
     
  7. Morris816

    Morris816 Member

    I agree with those who says blowing out an opponent isn't comparable to bullying, but the reason I support mercy rules is this: You will reach the point in which the game become less about kids getting playing time who might not get it, and kids learning to "never give up," and becomes a situation in which you are hammering home points too much.

    I don't advocate telling kids not to score touchdowns but I'd rather games either have running clocks at some point or ended if scores are too lopsided because a blowout will soon reach the point where it really isn't doing anybody any good. The lessons learned have been learned by that point and it's just time to move on.
     
  8. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    One thing not mentioned in helping to keep score down is to get the refs involved.
    You can pretty much find a holding penalty on every play. Nothing wrong with having a
    few TD's called back due to holding.

    I guess it would be a problem to some if HS games had over / under.
     
  9. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    It's not merely about being economically disadvantaged. It's about how advantaged or disadvantaged you are compared with the teams you play. Granted, some schools overcome this because they happen to have a strong football tradition (East St. Louis High in Illinois, for example), or because they become feeder schools, thanks to more school choice, for their districts (see Simeon High basketball in Chicago). But for the most part, if a school is have-not economically, it's going to be a have-not on the field. (See this: http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/oct/10/high-school-football-economics-clark-haves/)
     
  10. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    THIS.....

    Pretty much all of the "disadvantaged" schools around here - Clairton won like 90 games in a row, Aliquippa produces NFL guys and wins every year, Sto Rox is always a power, Beaver Falls is always good - kick the shit out of their suburban counterparts
     
  11. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    If handled correctly, there is no need for a running clock and kids can learn whatever lessons you want them to learn and not get discouraged.
     
  12. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    Buchanan thought it was another coach pulling a prank when he first heard about it.

    http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/10/texas_football_coach_on_bullyi.html
     
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