Tell me , is it worth it to complain??? (by kim)
Okay here is the situation that has been eating at me for a couple of days, I would like anyones opinion, as I am trying to see it from different angles, but am having a hard time seeing it any other way than what it is!
Pickles the football player, practices every day from 3:10 until 5:30. There are 44 players on the team, consisting of 7th & 8th graders, some have played pop warner football, some have played one other year of modified football, and some (alot) like Pickles have never played in their lives.
So here is my complaint...every single game they alternate the first 4 quarters with the A team (their good players in their eyes, or the players who have fathers who were college f'ball players or better yet pro football players) and their B team (the ones who are still pretty good or in 8th grade and decent) THEN...we have the C team (the really crappy players who they don't give a damn about) Now I will give them, that the C team, or the Bad new's bears as we have dubbed them, are NOT the greatest players....BUT they deserve a chance, am I right??? SOOO they created the 5TH quarter, just for them... AND maybe if they are lucky...they get to play in the 5TH quarter that was created just for them....oops, I forgot to capitilize the MAYBE, and if I could figure out how to make it gigantic..i would!! You see, the stipulations for letting the C team play in the 5TH quarter is...they have to be losing or winning really badly, well and since we have not won very often....
Well let me tell you a little story that just about threw me over the edge.....the last and final hurrah, the last game for the season..these kids were psyched! Pickles had to pee during the game and was holding it for the 5th quarter because he just did not want to miss being called in...the 5th quarter came, and they put in their A team, ?????? WTF, okay..remain calm...this happened last time (coincidentally both games were close in points too) and the other coach (so our coach claims) told him that he was putting in HIS A team, and so our coach felt he needed to put his A team in too!!! The other team scored and for the last seconds, he threw the C team a bone and let a couple of them in...such a sweety pie! BUT this time for their last game, this was not the case...the game was very very close and the other team finally won, and our C team, and even some 8th graders, who should get some playing time, never NEVER got the chance to play in the game....ALL FOR THE WIN...that they did not get!!
I just can't believe it!! What is the message he is sending these kids????? Every parent of the C team was pissed, but no one will say a word..why??? ohhh, you know small town politics!!! and they justify it by saying...this is the weeding out process, the kids know that if they stick with it, and put up with this shit, and stay in till High School, they will get playing time, cause they will then be "dedicated"...(I mean, being dedicated wouldn't mean getting screamed and swoar at for 2 hours a day, would it???) Yes the coaches swear and scream, that is my other beef...I mean really would these coaches want teachers, who in my book are in the same level as coaches to be teaching their kids and when they get something wrong..swear and scream at them....NOOO I think that would be unacceptable!! BUT throw a pigskin in their and a jock strap and its A-ok!!!
My question is...if this is the weeding out process...how are these kids going to learn anything...correct me if I am wrong, as I have never played rough tough sports, but is it by doing sprints and passing the ball and practicing plays or is it by doing and experiencing the actual game, that they will learn, by experience and by getting hit???
Okay really, I need some good rhetorics of what to say to the stupid coach, I think I will write a letter, maybe to the local newspaper, this is ridiculous with a capitol R!!!
Oh and this is funny....two games before the score was 30 something to zero..they put the C team in for the 5TH, cause you know they were already being creamed...and the C team goes in....and hahahahha we get the final and only touchdown....do you think that kid played any extra time, like do you think he got bumped into the B team or maybe the A team???? nahhhhhhhhh....sigh....it's all political!!
posted by Kim/Thomas @ 8:35 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Write a letter or go to the next school board meeting. Tell them you don't think this instills good values in the CHILDREN, etc.
Kim - this is a hot topic for me. My husband went to one of the "big" football schools and as such I have now been exposed to this CRAP. Somehow, we have elevated football, and thus football players, to a deity status. The high school football players at my daughter's school receive special treatment that no other students receive (and they haven't even won a game :)). I have actually heard one player inform a teacher he doesn't have to go to detention for inappropriate behavior because he's a football player. We as a society have said that if you are a football player, it is acceptable to treat women badly, be violent, and not be held responsible for your actions. By swearing at players and putting winning above all else, your coaches are teaching lessons to your son. My suggestion - find another sport. I have already informed my husband that my son will play football over my dead body. Sorry for the rant but this issue pisses me off. Why do we accept such poor sportsmanship and bad attitudes because they are "men" and they play "football"?
Ugh. Not a pretty scenario by any means. It is very political. And there really is no clear answer here. I understand that at some level (perhaps high school, not middle school however), kids do have to try out to make the team and unfortunately, not everyone can play and those that do play never play equally.
With that said however, understandably you and many parents are upset with this particular coach. First of all, this is middle school and there shouldn't be such blatant exclusion. Secondly, this coach's approach is ridiculous. A fifth quarter to allow the C team to play?! He should be able to work with the players better than that. And then, he doesn't even stick to this whacky scheme?! He's an idiot and someone should call him out on this. His inconsistency is the most troubling. The mixed messages this sends to the kids is most damaging. Why not just have try outs at the beginning of the season and weed kids out that way? In my opinion, the damage would be far less considerable than this bullshit.
This scenario doesn't just apply to football. It is often a mindset that a coach/school/group of parents can take on...the winning obsession (this is also very frequently related to academics and competition to succeed where grades and performance are concerned)...and sadly, the children absorb all the negativity.
If this coach is going to remain a part of the team and continue to pull this shit, does Pickles even want to play? Are there any rec teams in your town that he could participate in instead?
Finally, I'm sorry to hear that Pickles (and you!) have to go through this. It is unsurprising but always disappointing to hear these things.
I have to admit that I did not read all of your post but read half.
I know you love your child and that overprotection has become the norm with parents these days. But is that a good thing? I do not think so. I do understand that it can make your heart ache so I feel for you.
But is creating a "C" team a good idea? Did they have a "c" team when you were a child? I am sorry but everybody should not GET to play! Those kids should not be on a football team. You don't GET everything you want in life and aren't you suppose to be preparing these kids for real LIFE? Instead of being "politically correct"...no grades, no competition, etc., etc., wouldn't it be better to help your child find what they ARE good it? And then encouraging the development of those strenghs? Instead of falsely telling them that they can do "anything they want." I'm sorry, but not all people are equipped to be mathematicians (no matter how many people tell them they should be able to be). Not all people can paint a beautiful painting. And not all people are great athletes! So what!!! Each has their own strengths. Help them to find THOSE instead creating this false world where everyone gets a turn at everything! This new way of parenting and teaching is doing a diservice to the next generation. I worry that those ambitious, polite, ingenious people of yesteryear may be gone forever at the rate we are going.
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