Hartley Miller's Slap-Shots Friday, Sept 1st Edition

By Hartley Miller

As students return to school, Prince George High School Football will begin a new season. Last weekend, several teams prepared for the start of their year by participating in the Northern BC football Jamboree at Masich Place.  

 This one day tournament was an icebreaker, a unique concept with no official game scores. Of course, scores will be recorded once the regular season begins. The league is in its infant stages, with just a few teams, so spectators do not want to see one team “running up” the score on an opponent. In fact, organizers in the league are striving for a balanced and competitive season. 

 The concept of parity is not new.  For instance, a new policy in Connecticut High School football penalizes coaches if their teams win by more than 50 points. It’s about time that this matter is addressed because this is much more than a high school football issue.

Anyone participating in sporting events wants to win, but consistently losing by lopsided scores, can damage the integrity of the game, and more importantly hurt the athlete, in more ways than one. The self esteem of a young person is paramount. Kids don’t want to be humiliated, and if the scoreboard displays one team receiving a spanking what do you think happens? More often than not, the athletes bury their heads, and eventually leave the game. The last thing teenagers want or need is constant criticism, ridicule, or be the butt of their friends’ jokes.

Coaches reach “greatness” because they respect the game, the officials, the volunteers, the fans and the opponents, even if the opposition lacks skill. (Notice how I didn’t mention the media, but that’s a topic, for a different column).

When a high school football team loses by more than 50, or when a basketball team is trounced by 60 or 70, and if a hockey team is defeated by double digits, then red flags should be raised. Occasionally, this may happen, but if super blowouts continue on a regular basis, then the winning coach should be reprimanded, and warned that this type of action won’t be tolerated. If the warning falls on deaf ears, then, for the good of the game, the individual should be removed from the position.

Good coaches can prevent embarrassment by utilizing a variety of strategies including: playing second or third string players; football teams can run conservative ground plays; basketball teams can work on their passing, and not shoot until the 30 second clock is about to expire; and hockey teams can concentrate on basic systems. And yes, there is a subtle way to implement one of these strategies, so the opposition doesn’t think you are challenging its integrity, or the honor of the game.

Running up the score has been around so long it may be the world’s second oldest profession, but when it comes to school aged kids it needs to be stopped, regardless of the sport, or the city. It’s about performing with class and not acting like the last three letters of that word.

From the quote rack:

---

“So, Saskatchewan Roughriders tailback Kenton Keith isn’t talking to the media, eh? Well, he does have the right to remain silent .”

Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post after a CFL player ran into some legal problems following
a brawl at a nightclub in which a bouncer was injured.
---

“The Bengals have added the plea-flicker to their playbook.”

Randy Hill of foxsports.com following the arrest of several Cincinnati football players over the last
few months. 

---
 

Q. What do the Bengals call a Nebraska man that’s been arrested 226 times and has a rap sheet 43 pages long?

A. Their role model

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California 

---
 

“John Gibbons doesn’t seem to be open-minded with his players----he sure had tunnel vision last Monday night”.

Bill Littlejohn

---

"I read the New York Yankees had broken ground to replace their 81- year-old icon. I didn’t know that George Steinbrenner had passed away!’’ .

Gerald DesRoches, in Cam Hutchinson’s column in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

---

And in case you missed it:

The five sports records least likely to be broken according to askmen.com are  5. Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game; 4. John Wooden’s 88 straight victories as the head coach of the UCLA men’s basketball team (1971-74); 3. Cy Young’s 511 pitching victories; 2. Jerry Rice’s 22,895 receiving yards; 1.Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games played.

And how was your week?

Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the
PG Free Press. Hartley’s e-mail address is hmiller@94xfm.com

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us