High School Football: The Way Things Ought To Be

As I have said before one of my extra curricular activities is that I am a High School sports official. And in the Fall of the year the sport I officiate is football. Too often as I officiate contests between teenage athletes be it in baseball,football or wrestling I get to see the bad side of people. I get to see unruly or abusive fans, coaches acting as anything but role models and kids that have no respect. Honestly as officials we are not blameless either  I have witnessed a few officials that think they are bigger than the game as well. Truly it is mostly a positive experience and there are many many more good examples in high school sports than bad but as we all know one bad apple can ruin it for everyone. As an official if I have a memorable experience at a game it is mostly because I remember something bad, that is until my most recent contest.

We were scheduled to officiate a Varsity contest between two small schools. In Iowa where I officiate the smallest of schools play a variation of the traditional game that involves 8 players instead of 11. The field is 80 yards long instead of 100 and it is 10 yards narrower on each side. I won't bore you with the exceptions to the rules but mostly they are the same as the 11 man game. At this particular game the home team had to play their games at a local junior high school field because they did not have a home field of their own. Not only did they not have their own field but since the field was set up for the traditional 11 man game, cones marking the north endzone where located on the 20 yard line of the field. If a team scored in the north endzone and they wanted to kick a point after touchdown we all had to run to the other end of the field for the kick where the goal posts where a correct distance from the endzone. The field being a junior high field was not in very good shape so conditions where not the best for play.

The visiting team was 2-2 on the year however the home team had only won 1 game in its entire history. In fact they had been beaten by so soundly in all there previous contests that it was pretty obvious to the visiting coach and our officiating crew that this was going to be a lopsided game. At the coin toss the usual speech by us officials was given about good sportsmanship, hands were shook and the coin was flipped.

From the opening kickoff I could see this game was going to be different than anything I had officiated in a long time. I mean the play went as expected with  the visiting team scoring every time they touched the ball. The home team on the other hand could not move the ball at all. It looked like a match up between a high school and a junior high team. By the end of the first quarter it was 50-0, halfway through the second the visiting team had not one starter on the field. This was all as expected.

What was not expected was this, the visiting team helping the home team up after every tackle, the visiting team obviously tackling so as to cause the least amount of injury when they had multiple opportunities to lay some vicious yet legal hits on a quarterback that was not very well protected. Both teams encouraging each other and complementing opponents on their game play. The won't quit attitude of a home team that could have laid down and accepted the inevitability of the loss or gotten sullen and pouted about how unfair it all was. They played until the final horn as if they were still in the game. The home town fans did nothing but encourage their team and they cheered as loud as I have ever heard when their team would make the rare first down or when they actually managed to score late in the game against the visiting second team.

When the game ended with a final score of 70-24 the teams did what all high school teams do and shook hands. Then something else happend that I have never seen in 8 years of officiating high school sports. The losing team, every single kid, came over to my officiating crew shook our hands and thanked  us. Meanwhile the winning team as a group went to the sidelines in front of their fans and sang the school fight song. In this day and age who even knows the school fight song? These kids did and I thought I had been transported back 60 years to the days of leather helmets and 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Did I mention during this game my officiating crew heard not one, not one, negative comment from coaches, spectators, or players? I don't think that has ever happened, to me at least.

I will always remember this game, not because of the lopsided score, but because of the almost surreal display of sportsmanship in a day and age when too many high school fans, coaches, and players think this is the NFL and forget that high school sports is supposed to be teaching student athletes positive qualities that will help them in later life.

My hat is off to both teams, well done

Rebuttal from a Coach

In the interest of fairness, I recieved a rather long rebuttal to my earlier rant about coaches. So for the first time ever here are comments in full sent by a "guest" blogger:

"I read your “Where is the Decorum?: Coach heal thyself” and while I agree with some of your points and could also point out some characteristics of youth referees if pressed J, I took personal offense to the “Coaches at all levels should be required to … pay a fee to get the privilege to coach our young people.”  Just wanted to remind you that we do.  I paid for the background checks, I paid for a course to get my copper card to coach youth wrestling, I paid for a USA wrestling membership, I pay for water and ice on occasion for practices and games because it is not necessarily provided but still our responsibility.  I pay a little extra for the appreciation party at the end of the year.  We also have to make the majority if not all practices and games while other parents may be able to “skip” a few for other commitments, and also we wait behind with other people’s kids who are “just a few minutes late” picking them up, no big deal, right?  We also pay for the right to have other parents who focus solely on their child and tell us he needs more playing time or if we would just do this (meaning let their child play running back) the team would be better, etc. etc. after watching practice or the game for 5 minutes when we have been practicing and evaluating for weeks.  We are even tutors on occasion when some kids can’t seem to pass a simple grade check in school because the parents are not capable of helping (all it takes is effort which is what is wrong with America).  I have been mentor, tutor, male role model, friend, financier, bus driver, whipping boy and scapegoat all so my son gets to be coached by me (really who better J )and because I am a sports nut.  We receive absolutely no compensation for our time whatsoever except for the occasional “thanks, coach”.  I think we’ve paid enough.  I wouldn’t be opposed to a knowledge based quiz however, but I think we know how that will turn out, in my case at least.  Just some other side of the coin perspective for you bro."   

So there you have it, I have been rebuked. But since this is my blog I have the final word and we all know I wasn't talking about the kind of coach that takes the time to write such a convincing response. So we can agree that both officials and coaches need to be role models and be professional. We can also agree that the coach above is exactly the kind of coach kids need.

Where Is the Decorum? : Coach Heal Thyself

So I don't normally whine about things that I know I don't have control over. I also know that this subject has been discussed ad naseum by many many people, generally complaining about the younger generation. I however am not going to complain about young people, the people I am going to complain about are older and should definitely know better. The people I am talking about are so called youth sports "coaches." As I have related in the blog before I officiate sports from high school down to the elementary school level. Officiating is generally an enjoyable experience and the State High School Sports Associations keeps a pretty tight rein on unsportsmanlike behavior of coaches,players and fans.

Youth sports or those sports for younger individuals that are generally played outside the auspices of an official organization, however are a different story. Different leagues have wildly different standards  between them as to who can be a coach and how that coach should act. This is fine, I am all for free enterprise and letting the market decide on the best process. However, what generally happens is the process is no process and if your kid or kids participates in the sport you're a "coach." There is where the problem lies, none of these so called coaches have any idea how to be a coach. They think because they watch a sport on TV that they know everything about it and their coaching technique amounts to browbeating the kids and yelling at the officials. Few if any of these Vince Lombardi want-a-be's actually take the time to study the rules or any coaching techniques that involve positive reinforcement. Oh they may throw the occasional " Have fun" when they are talking to their minions but the say it halfheartedly in an attempt to be politically correct.

Youth sports in my opinion is the time to positively model the good aspects of competition and being a member of a team. This is the opportunity to give the children involved good character traits before they grow up and the sport becomes more about winning conference championships than building character. Unfortunately rather than acting as a team in concert with the officiating staff to promote good game play and good sportsmanship too often coaches at these lower levels try to prove they're the next Bill Bellicek or Dan Gable and they run up the score, continue passing when ahead by 35 points, or just plain humiliate an opponent. This is bush league at its finest.Coaches should be modeling the good sportsmanship that they expect from others.

Coaches at all levels should be required to pass a knowledge based rules test, and pay a fee to get the privilege to coach our young people. Where are your manners, shame on you Coaches, heal thyself