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Did a favor for a bud and took an 8th grade Girls travel game last week. Counted no less than 12 "I'm sorry"'s and about an equal number of "Excuse me"'s...
Almost enough to atone for 20+ jump balls Gotta love it
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Prettys Womans in your city |
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Yeah, I know what you mean. The coach for red reminded me of Dianne from "Cheers." Constantly encouraging and overly sweet and smiley. Kept calling the girls "sweatheart," and encouraging them.
Frankly, it was refreshing. Before the opening jump in the A game, one of the players from Red asked me what I would think if they were to say encouraging things to the other team. ![]()
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Sprinkles are for winners. |
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The only problem I have is this: why are these girls playing the game? Is it a passion for basketball? Maybe for the occasional one or two players, but most of them are there because mommy and/or daddy are pushing them to be the star jock or because their peers are all doing it and they don't want to be left out. I ref a lot of ball at this age level, and I frequently wonder what motivates them to be there.
I know not everybody is out there to be a future WNBA or NBA player. I've just seen too many that have no clue at all.
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Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win AND never quit are idiots. |
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At this level, it's as much a social activity as anything else. The girls were all having fun, from what I could tell. The coaches were extremely pleasant and encouraging. The parents were the same.
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Sprinkles are for winners. |
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Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win AND never quit are idiots. |
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many of these girls enjoy the game -- they might not be the most competitive but they ENJOY the social aspect like snaq said earlier. no matter what level the parents take it more seriously a majority of the time. George Carlin said it best, and i truly believe, that parents today are leading to the pu$$ification of our youth. Some of the things that parents do to "fight for their kids" my parents never would have thought and I was always taught to fight my own battles within reason of course.
i have said it many times, and from growing up on the east coast and moving to california when I was 18 I can see how the 2 sides differ in raising their kids. Everything I REALLY learned was from injuring myself somehow. In California thats hard with all the armor kids wear. but after this rant these girls enjoy this -- you can tell -- its evident in how they play and how they interact with their team and opponents. they dont value winning the most but they value the enjoyment that we all had at one point from doing the most mundane |
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Part of the issue is, I think, that around here, basketball isn't the "be all end all" that it is in other areas. It's a game, and most people keep that in perspective; especially below the high school level.
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Sprinkles are for winners. |
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Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win AND never quit are idiots. |
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It really is (sometimes) a breath of fresh air.
Don't overlook your impact on "teaching" the game to these lower levels.Enjoyable too.
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"Sports do not build character. They reveal it" - Heywood H. Broun "Officiating does not build character. It reveal's it" - Ref Daddy |
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