[ChrisSportsFan]

Originally posted by rainmaker

Well, maybe not in so many words. But there are ways to lessen the pain a little. Put in the second string. Try some new plays. Require everyone to play a different position in the play. Drop back into a zone on defense. In these ways, you're still encouraging the kids to play hard, but they may not be quite as intimidating.

I know, I know it's not their job to help the opponent feel better about their little selves. I do think it's the coach's job to be sure his kids aren't just show-boating or playing around.

The best team in these parts for the last 15 years has been the Oregon City girls team. They routinely win in their league by 40 to 70 point spreads. They could probably top 100 every league game, but they don't, because the coach sees these as learning opportunities, and he doesn't let the girls goof off. They are expected to concentrate and work something that they haven't mastered yet, so they can develop as players. They never laugh or taunt, not even indirectly. I have some issues with their program, but sportsmanship isn't one of them. They are top drawer in that area. [/B]

I agree that you watch for showboating. If the losing team feels like they're getting clowned then there's gonna be some cheap-shots. When coaching my kid's teams, I've been on both sides of blowouts and neither are much fun. Last year I had a girls game that was a serious blowout. One team should be playing against freshman (they had no JV team and the V team only had 6 girls, I think they recruited some kids off the speech team to get enough) and the other team was a decent varsity team. Their boys team is pretty good and in a conference that uses 3-person mechanics so we had to work this the same. Our only saving grace was the running clock in the 4Q.