[Mark Padgett]

I got to the gym today for a middle school girls "competitive" tip off tournament just in time to see the end of a game. With just over five minutes to go, the score was 46-4. The final was 56-6. Apparently, it was a 5th grade team playing against a 6th grade team. I went up to speak with the coach of the losing 5th graders after the game because he happens to be a friend of mine. He told me his was the only 5th grade girls team to enter the tournament and when that became apparent to the organizers, they offered him the choice of either withdrawing or playing in the 6th grade bracket. He chose to have his girls play.

The officials told me the other team wasn't trying to "pour it on" and when it became apparent it was going to be a rout, they slowed down, made a lot of passes before shooting and pulled up on fast breaks.

The 5th graders have another game tomorrow and the coach told me it's against an even better 6th grade team, who he scouted earlier in the day.

I actually felt a little sorry for his kids.

It gets worse. He will find out next week if any other 5th grade girls teams are even going to be in that league this season. If not, he'll have to make that choice of dropping out or playing against 6th grade teams all season. If they decide to drop out, I'll see if we have room to place those girls on teams in our local rec league (not on the same team, but assign them each to other teams) even though it's past our registration deadline. They'll probably enjoy the games more and they'll only have to pay $95 for the season (plus a $15 late fee) instead of about $450.