Real Team Attitude - Would You Want Him?
 

:mad:

I had not heard of Varsity Inc. until a post this week, but I caught the last ten minutes tonight. The Rebels lost their playoff game and a player (from the little I saw, it appeared he was one of the better players), rather than staying with the team for the post-game handshake and meeting, left his helmet and jersey on the field and walked off. A perfect example of what is wrong with many high school athletes today. Me, me, me. Forget about the team.

One of the coaches had made the comment that he would be playing college ball next year. If you were a college coach recruiting him, how much would his actions influence your decision to offer him a scholarship?

He's behaved that way all season long. That won't stop somebody from signing him.

In today's world of college athletics, this kid is already signed and the coach's for this kid look the other way when someone this talented pulls a boneheaded stunt like this. Maybe at this level he is special enough to do something like this and get away with it, but at the next level he will be just another kid with a lot of talent who is amongst kids of the same caliber and it would not even be noticed.

This is an all too familiar story. Here in my hometown the star QB didn't shake hands, he just left the field. The coaches, his teammates, and even the fans were hollering at him to come back. Other than that he is a real good kid and it was a shock to everyone that this kid would do such a thing. He was just so upset in the loss that he let it control him. Needless to say, the AD suspended him from basketball (probably just a couple of games) and his dad had a good discussion with him as well.

The AD shows a lot of class for doing that! I say good job to the AD for letting the kids know that sportsmanship does matter.

You mean the kid's father didn't get a lawyer to file an injunction!?

I'd like to second that. We have a couple of ADs in our group of schools we service that take sportsmanship seriously. He came by one of our meetings and handed out business cards with his phone number--including his home number--requesting updates on poor or excellent sportsmanship during the season directly from us. And one team had an _outstanding_ guy that we called his AD to acknowledge. The AD was grateful and the head coach really appreciated the positive feedback. I think, it is important to acknowledge the good along with reporting the bad.

In my chapter we provide officiating services to 28+ schools and that includes jr. high on up to varsity. Each year our member vote on 2 schools each year that have showed the highest level of sportsmanship. When those schools have their sports banquets we award them with a plaque for the sportsmanship award. Schools that receive that reward are very grateful to receive it. We vote on this before the playoffs begins. It's no surprise that teams with good sportsmanship exel on the field. One of the teams this year made their way through the playoffs and won a state championship. It all starts at the top. The head coach for that team is the best I have ever worked for. You can totally screw up on a call and he won't say a word. I've never heard of him ever hollering at an official. That type of environment allows us to concentrate on officiating.

Amen! My high school football coach was like that. I got nailed for holding once, and I turned to the official and said "That's bullsh*t." Not only did I get my 15, but I got to sit for the week and write an essay on sportsmanship. He set an excellent example, and now as an official, I really appreciate guys like him. Unfortunately they seem to be a dying breed....

You gotta remember, these are kids we're talking about. I know there are a great many kids who "get it," who are polite and respectful and have had good upbringings and such, but they're still young people and they do stupid stuff sometimes (I know, I have two of them).

I think one of the many jobs of a college coach (if they take their jobs seriously) is to educate and mold young people in more ways than just getting them to play their sport better.

If I'd recruited the kid who was all petulant after such a loss, I'd like to think I'd remember that he's probably 17 years old and, rather than looking at it as a negative, I'd look at it as an opportunity. I'd have an opportunity to help shape a young person and give them the benefit of my experience, hopefully that would pay off for him down the road.

Now, does that mean I'm going to look the other way in a Lawrence Phillips situation or brush transgressions under the rug like at some schools (or give out some Bobby Bowden-like meaningless punishment like make a guy sit out a quarter of a bowl game)? No. Nor am I going to say I'd never cut my losses eventually and give up on a kid.

But this is behavior that, while far from optimal, isn't out of the ordinary for a young person, especially a young athlete who plays an emotional sport.

I'd look at it as an opportunity, whether I was the kid's coach or the kid's father.

This is part of what we're here for, boys and girls.