Fairness needed in high school sports

If it came from the Post editorials..it usually is a joke.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sup-rbeast</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If it came from the Post editorials..it usually is a joke.</div></div> Letters to the editor are just letters submitted by members of the public.

I can agree though, that to handle organized sports and playing time the way this writer wants would be doing no favors to the kids. All kids are not created equal. Additionally real life is not fair - some things just have to be learned the hard way.

Ms. Henry,

You may or may not be a reader of this forum. I was once one of those players that you speak of. I was one of those players that sat the bench every game that I played during my varsity career at a prominent high school well known for high school success in all of its sports programs.
Yes, I was one of those players that felt at times that maybe I was not being given a fair shake at being able to prove myself. But I did not go around blaming my coach for things that were going on. I probably played all of 8 minutes if that over the course of 20 games during my senior year... and I was a player that played both basketball and baseball every year of my high school career. My parents were people who cared about my feelings and were no doubt disappointed. But what I disliked about my senior year in basketball, it wasn't the fact that I wasnt playing as much as I thought I should be. It was the fact that I was playing on a team that was very selfish and had no togetherness. We were a .500 team if that and if I had any desires... it was to be able to get out there just to see if I could add something to our team and help us out. I loved the game of basketball and I still do to this day. I will elaborate later.
You talk about a coach not playing all of the players equally, well ma'am.. it is the job of the coach...on the varsity level... to win games. I dont care if you have a freshman playing over a senior. A coach can only do so much with what he has....but it is the job of the coach to put out the best players, or the ones with the best abilities, on the field or on the court in order to be fulfilling the job that he is doing to the best of his ability.
To me, a coach playing certain players over others isn't an example of a character flaw. To me, that is a coach just showing what life is all about. I'm not going to deny that there isn't some politics that goes on in certain places.... but for the most part.....coaches are going to do everything possible to get the w's on the varsity level. Its a hard pill to swallow I know but it is the truth.
There are some kids who may come out for a team and are kept on the team because of their great attitude or because they may have a desire to be on the team and they are well-liked by some of the other players who are already on the team, but that does not give them the right to be out there playing. Even if that is the case, I feel that the coach should be upfront with the players and talk to them personally one on one about where they are ability wise and where they stand on the team. At the time that I was playing, there are times that I would have personally liked to have talked to my coach just to know where I stood. I've looked back on game film from my senior year and I can watch it now and easily tell you why I did not play a great deal. I was little and I wasnt strong at all. Yes.. I could probably shoot it a little bit... but to play the game of basketball... or any sport.. especially in todays times... you better have a little strength as well. I was young and I did not hit my growth spurt and put on that extra added strength that I needed until college. But as little as I played in high school and as much as I practiced during my senior year.... I was proud to be a part of the basketball family at my school and today... I'm even more proud.
Because even though I practiced my backside off and played little... it did not dampen my love for the game. I practiced day in and day out because I loved the game and I loved the aspect of being apart of a team.... traveling to different places... meeting new people....when I went to college... I made friends with a lot of people that unknown to me... our h.s. team had faced over the course of my varsity career and they became some of the best friends I ever had simply because we had that aspect of our lives in common.
But every practice I went to... every ounce of sweat I dropped just like the other players.... every suicide I ran... I ran it with a drive to get that much better each and every day. It was frustrating yes to sit there hoping that maybe you would get a chance to prove yourself.... but if that time didnt come.... it may have been frustrating but it didnt dampen the love that I had for the game.
I went to college and played pickup games with some of the players who played ball at the college that I attended... and was actually asked by a few of them why I didn't walk on. I told them that I feel that if it had been mean't for me to play college ball... I feel that it would have happened. But it wasnt and I knew that after college ball, there wasnt going to be any NBA tryout or anything like that. I went to the college for the sole purpose of one day to teach... and who knows.. maybe coach as well. I may not have had the ability to play... but I had a love for the game and I had a desire and hunger to know all about the game and learn of it.
While I was in college, during my breaks from school, I would go with my cousins up to another prominent basketball school and play with them some... which led to me playing some pickup games against that school's team and getting to know the head coach in the process. My junior and senior year of college, I did some volunteer work helping out that high school's basketball program... and then once I graduated... I was hired as a varsity assistant and an 8th grade coach.
I look back on my life now and I consider myself one of the luckiest guys and one of the most blessed guys around. If my senior year taught me anything... it taught me that you may not be able to get what you want at that moment... but if you keep working... sooner or later.. the dreams you had... they'll be happening.
The dreams I had as a senior? I wanted to play in a state championship game. I wanted to win that medal and say yes... I was a part of a team that was the best. But you know what... it didnt happen. And you know... thats life. Sometimes what you want.. you dont get. But it doesnt mean that you give up on it. What embarrassed me the most? Probably some of the times that my parents went to my coach ..... even when some of other teammates saw it and talked to him venting frustrations about my lack of playing time. Even to this day... if I want something... I want something because I deserve it... not because someone gave it to me. And you know what... sometimes... it does help to know people to get what you want... but Ms. Henry... thats life. I guarantee that there have been times that you have got a few things that you wanted or desired to have simply because you knew someone that helped you get it. If you want to get a house... if you know someone that can help you get it... I'm sure you would not pass up the help. But what about those same people that are looking to buy that same house you want.... that may not know that one person who can help you get that house you want. Is it right that you know that person more and may have more pull with them than those other people? Yes.. this doesnt deal with basketball... this deal with a life situation. But as coaches... while it is the job of the coach to exemplify good character and be a good leader... that doesn't mean giving equality to all.... on the middle school level... I think its different somewhat because you want all your kids to be given a good look. You dont want a good one to slip through the cracks. But for the varsity level, you want to win. And if you are on the varsity level as a player... it isnt a right for that kid to be there. It is a privilege. If he is on the varsity basketball team, he is one of a select few that is able to go out and represent his school.... and yes.. it is frustrating not playing. I know the feeling well. But also, if the kid is there because he loves the game and is there to do whatever it takes to help the team succeed... then that is the type of player you want to have on your varsity squad. Whether he plays or not... is at the discretion of the coach and his assistants. Sometimes... coaches make mistakes. Coaches aren't gods... they are human being like anyone else. But coaches.... if they are given that position... more times than not.. its because they know what they are doing and they know what it takes to see a team succeed.
As for me, I played varsity basketball my junior and senior year and rode the bench both years. It killed me... I'll admit.. but mostly because as a student I had those dreams of going to state and being that 1000 point scorer and all that stuff. Its not wrong to have dreams... but there comes a point where you have to face reality as well. And the reality was... I did not have that ability to be the player I wanted to be at the time. With time... I did get better... but only because even after school was out... I kept playing and I kept practicing even long after I had graduated. I wasn't playing and working out to make my college team... basketball was my escape. It allowed me an escape from everything else that stressed me out in life. When I was studying for finals in college.... I would take my study break and go to the gym and shoot basketball for 30 minutes... then come back and study with a clear head. A gym, for me, was my sanctuary.
So.... what happened with me? I graduated college. I was hired as a teacher in a local county... and for the past 14 years I have worked as a high school basketball coach... and still work as one today.
In those 14 years Ms. Henry, the four teams that I have been apart of (as I have also coached girls basketball as well), I have seen the players that I have coached win a combined: 15 district championships, been to the regional tournament 13 of those 14 years, won 4 regional championships, been regional runnerup 4 times, been to the state tournament 8 times, been to the state final four 6 times and finished as state runnerup three times and win one state championship.
And if I never win a state championship game, I can say that I've been very lucky and very blessed just to have made some little difference in the lives of all my players and to have built great relationships with them... great relationships that I still have to this day. And Ms. Henry, if I had been the type of person that just gave up on it all... just because I wasnt being treated like everyone else, I wouldnt have had that drive and that hunger to keep my dream alive to see all of this happen. I've been able to do all of this... because I loved the game. God has been pretty great to me and blessed me very well and allowed me to experience all the things that I wanted to experience in high school in the past 14 years.... but more than anything... allowed me to expand and become friends with so many more people. And it would be great to win a state championship one day... but you know what the most important thing to me is now? My family and my friend... and being able to help out the former and current student athletes in their own lives if I can. Not with their game... but with their life in general. I respect any player that comes out and makes my team and while he or she may not play a lot... I'll treat them as I would that same player that starts for me because they are both going through the same thing everyday. And I will do everything in my power to help them out in whatever way possible. Sports isnt all about having the spotlight on you... its about great competition and its about seeing the team as a whole succeed... and sometimes that means some people may not be able to see as much action as a few others...but that doesnt mean that they arent part of the team. At the school where I coach, we have people who ride the bench as well... but the success we have had is all because we have players who understand that the team comes before anything. They arent happy and if they have problems, they come and talk to us about them. And we as coaches, we'll sit down ... talk things out... and the matter is resolved. But we talk to them as adults and be honest and straight forward with them. If they do not want to continue with the team, that is their choice.. but they usually stay because they know that in being apart of our team.... it is a privilege to be there and they are able to be apart of something in their lives that while they may not have fully participated in it a lot during the season... they are still apart of the team.
When that plaque is hung on the wall of the school, it doesnt show a game with the best player shooting a shot... it shows the entire team standing together. No one cares about the games and what happened in them in such a such quarter.... all that people see in the future is that plaque or that trophy that says "Champion" on it... and to be able to look back on that in the future and tell your kids stories about it... to say that you have been there and that you were apart of those great teams and tell stories about the great players that were your teammates... that is what is great about life. Even if you dont win,... if your kids know that you were apart of a team ... some kids very young realize that ..."hey.. my dad or my mom was tough to go through what it takes to do this." And that gives them the inspiration to go out and see what its all about.
So... its not about being in the spotlight. I can tell you from experience that being in the spotlight isnt all its cracked up to be.
Some parents live through their kids and put their kids in a spotlight that they dont want. Some kids are born to be in the spotlight... but are humble enough to handle it in the correct manner.
So Ms. Henry, if your kid is apart of a team... be happy that he/she was able to be apart of one. I guarantee that there are plenty others who would gladly take your kids place and ride the pine just to say that he/she was apart of a team at one point or another in their life.
And as a basketball coach for over 14 years, I can say one thing. I dont know what the situation is at the school where you are at... but you will not ever make your kid be something in life that he/she does not want to be. Dont try to live our your kids dreams through your own eyes... because it may not be his/her dreams. If he/she plays a sport, be happy that they are able to do so... even if they do or do not play a great deal, there are plenty of kids out there who would love to play that can't. I know because we had 34 come out for my team last year and we only kept 16. It was a middle school team mind you and did all of them play... some of them no. There are only so many minutes in a game. But I talked to each of them.. and each of them came to me and told me how happy and how proud they were just to be apart of the basketball family at the school where I coach now. And once they are apart of it... its something that you cant take away from them. It slims down as they get older... but that is where life kicks in. You're either going to have it or you're not. A coach has to take the best of the best. We're lucky enough at our school that we have some really great student-athletes with some great attitudes. That is why we have been so successful in the past few years. Success helps... I'll admit. But whether in a strong program or weak one... the premise is still the same. But the best product on the floor that is possible. That is not only life.... thats the American way.

sounds to me like the parnet of a kid who just sucks at sports and thought HS sports would be like little league where everybody has to play and bat

"Even Steven" ends in P-nut. The area coaches will find a way to play any kid that works hard. They might have to wait for a run away or play on kick-offs. One of the biggest problems anymore is you just don't find many people that want to work hard.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Spuds</div><div class="ubbcode-body">"Even Steven" ends in P-nut. The area coaches will find a way to play any kid that works hard. They might have to wait for a run away or play on kick-offs. One of the biggest problems anymore is you just don't find many people that want to work hard. </div></div>

True it is easier to say "The coach never gave me a chance" and cry how the world is unfair

I know it is old , but Tom played everybody. Robbins clears the bench anytime he is ahead of Appy by much at the end of the 3rd. JIB subs freely after the half. Stan runs them in and out. Jervis does too. All the area coaches pretty much do. You have to have fired up second teams for practice or you won't get any better. But some people don't like practice being their games. That is life. I never got any game time. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img] Once I got out of HS ,I found I was too afraid of failing to relax and play. But it didn't kill me, I learned to get over it and go on. The toughest people in the world are the parents that get up everyday , go to a job they don't love and provide for their families. And pay their taxes.

Life isn't fair. There are winners and losers in life, why should sports be any different?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NotSoSilentBob</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Life isn't fair. There are winners and losers in life, why should sports be any different? </div></div>
You can't have one, without the other.

I know this lady and have respect for her...I can see where she is coming from but i do not agree with her

I myself hardly got to play the 2 years i was on the team, but i do not regret any of it...At first i was mad but then I thought about it and looked at the situation...I was not as good as the starters, im short and not that fast...I was happy to be on the team and accepted my role on the team...I guarantee that I had as much fun with not a lot of PT than i would starting...Highschool sports IMO is meant for you to have a good time and experience and just have fun because most will not do anything after playing it in high school and I knew that....I didnt quit because i just loved being part of the team and if i got some PT then what the hell id take it...but most of the things ill remember about it will be practices, bus rides, coaches antics and not stuff that happens during the game...those are the stories my teammates(starters and others with more PT) and I talk about...and I still respect Coach as much as I did when i started playing...but there are always ppl thats gonna complain about there playing time, i never did it because i wouldnt know when i did get some that if it was because i bitched about it or earned it....So I see where shes coming from, but kids need to accept their role on the team and enjoy the experience and their time on the team or put in extra time to get better