LETTERS
The following letters are from readers in response to recent columns written by our editors. Join the conversation at
coachad.com (“Huddle Up”) and
winninghoops.com (“20-Second Timeout”), and voice your opinion on the most pressing issues currently facing athletic administrators and coaches.
There Is No Good In A 105-Point Victory As the coach of a team that won a game by 97 and another by 82, I disagree with your premise that the Bloomington South (Ind.) coaching staff and team don’t understand the game of girls basketball. There are varsity teams in our league that are made of inexperienced players; some don’t even know the basic rules, let alone know how to properly pivot. We get nothing out of having six such teams on our schedule. Our coaching staff and players would much rather play competitive games than games that are over in the first four minutes. Instead of blasting the coaches, how about something constructive like a running clock in the second half when the score differential is 30 points or more. Or, create divisions within a league. We have at least six teams in our league that could play in a lower division and be competitive.
—Brian Lee
I believe two parties are to blame here. I disagree with Brian. I think the coaching staff is mainly responsible. They are the ones who discuss sportsmanship and de- termine what aspects of the game that can be worked on in this situation. There is no excuse for winning by 105 points. You do nothing for yourself or the other team. I also believe the league is at fault. There is a serious problem with the way teams are ranked. If a team is at such a low level that they would lose by 105 points, they should be placed in a different division. This responsi- bility lies with the league and the coaches of the losing team to make sure their team is placed correctly. I would assume that each league has different divisions, so there is no excuse for this. Have a preseason tournament to determine where teams will be ranked—do something. I do agree with Brian that games should have rules
in play that state running time in the second half if the score is 30-plus. You could also agree that if a team is up by 50, then the game is over, although this one might not be popular. It would be equivalent to a mercy rule in baseball. In any case, there could be some league rules in place to make sure the deficit does not grow larger than 50 points.
The big picture is that coaches are teaching players lessons in life. Although winning and competition are important, we also need to be responsible for teaching proper sportsmanship and leadership skills. I believe these are not enhanced by a team winning/losing by 105
coachad.com
Talent mismatches are a common occurrence in girls high school basketball, and I’ve been on both ends. This type of thing is like a strong boy playing his younger sis- ter. Strangely, I have yet to see any indication the score was run up. I assume the winning coach called off the pressure and played kids out of position. However, having your kids stop playing hard and
playing keep away is the ultimate indignity. The adults need to get their act together. Where is the running clock, and who scheduled this game?
—Jeff
As a coach, our team has been in this situation many times. In our district meeting with the director of student activities, I brought up the fact that in AAU basketball when a team goes up by 30 we would go with a running clock if both coaches previously agreed to do so. This helped reduce the length of the game and it kept the scores down. The student activities group said “no” to the suggestion. People in charge need to wake up and take the deci- sion out of the coaches’ hands. What would it hurt to go to a running clock?
When we would go up by 30, we would instruct the girls that they had to make at least eight passes before they could put up a shot. Everyone played about four minutes each quarter. After a while, the girls knew the drill and what the expectations were. Coaches can keep the score down. Anything else is an excuse for poor sportsmanship. —Reginald
March/April 2013 7
points. The league and the coaches need to step up and take more responsibility.
—Rob Simmons
We played in a junior varsity team camp two seasons ago and encountered a couple of games like this. Our guys were all sophomores and very talented. Due to schedul- ing we got matched up with a middle school team with guys just learning how to play.
Once we realized how easy it was, we stressed winning the right way and gave our guys the following rules: no pressing or trapping, no fast breaks and we would only try to score off the give and go (the foundation of our offense). We could have won by 100 but ended up winning by
30. After the game, the opposing coach shook my hand and thanked me for how we played them. It was one of the most rewarding moments in my coaching career. —Anonymous
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