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quote:WillieBobo
Member
Posted August 07, 2005 02:37 PM
Life isn't fair, sports aren't fair.
In sports, each season is a new year. The coach is the final arbiter of who makes the team, who plays and who doesn't. What an athlete did last year is in the books and should have no bearing on the coming season.
Example 1 : Little Johnny has been a loyal schooly. He was lead to believe that if he stuck with the program that his turn would come. In tryouts in his senior year, Little Johnny was astonished to find that he was not the starting player at his position. A younger player has matured to the point that he runs faster, hits harder and more often and covers more ground at the position. Little Johnny and his parents say that this is not fair. Little Johnny has been a loyal schooly and should have his turn.
Example 2 : Little Louie has been a loyal schooly. In tryouts in his sophmore year, he has matured into the five tool player. Little Louie's abilities far surpass any other player on the team. Little Louie is shocked to find that he has not won the starting position becaude the coach has chosen to remain loyal to the player who has been loyal and is now a senior. Little Louie and his parents feel that he is the better player and should be the starter. They feel that this is not fair.
Example 3 : Little Johnny and Little Louie transfer to other schools, make the starting team on the merits of their abilities. The athletes who were not selected for the starting team because of the presence of the transfer students feel that this is not fair.
Example 4 : Coach Smith has come to find that a very talented athlete has transferred into his program. In tryouts, the transfer student is the better player. He chooses the transfer student as his starter over the players that have been loyal to his program. When questioned by the parents of athletes not starting because of this selection, Coach Smith informs the parents that they are not to question his authority as the coach. The parents of the athletes benched as the result of the transfer student feel that this is not fair.
Example 5 : Coach Smith has come to learn that one of his talented prospects has left the school for some reason. He finds that the new school is his arch rival. Though the player was not chosen for the starting team by Coach Smith, Coach Smith did not want this talented player competing aginst his team. Coach Smith feels that this is not fair.
Example 6 : Big Name High School wins the championship in every sport every year. Many reasons have been said to be the reason for this. All of the other schools say that this is not fair.
In each example, there is a 'loser'. Coach Smith is the only subject who seeks some solace and revenge. He asks the powers that be to create a 'rule' so that he is never a 'loser' in this way again. The new rule passes. Parents and athletes feel that this new rule is not fair and is only enacted for the benefit of the scorned coach.
In example 1 & 2, Little Johnny and Little Louie have no recourse. Even if they transfer to a school where they may have a better chance at making the starting team on their abilities, the 'Coach Smith Rule' benches them for a year. This rule is not fair to anyone but the scorned Coach Smith.
The only recourse that is immoral in my opinion is the one sought by Coach Smith. Some would say that the parents of the athletes who did not make the starting team because Little Johnny and Little Louie transfered in are also happy with the Coach Smith Rule.
The Coach Smith Rule has no redeeming social value. This 'rule' would only be a detriment to the student athlete, the very students that have been entrusted to Coach Smith and his program.
