Opinions: The right to have a team

Normally I would post this on the board for news outside of the GTA but since few posters read that board and this is an issue that is of interest to everyone, I thought it was worth posting here.

Last year, AY Jackson from Ottawa won the OFSAA AA championships. This year, the school has chosen to cancel the senior boys program due to chronic issues with behaviour, skipping class, missing practice, etc. It has become an issue of great controversy over the past couple of days in Ottawa, with people greatly divided over the decision. I have my own opinions on the issue but I though I would hold off as I'm curious what the posters here think about it.

Before commenting on the issue, please take the time to look at the following links:

"Jackson's call will stand"
http://tinyurl.com/5duqyz

"We want a team!"
http://tinyurl.com/5cuvql

"Tough love, but A.Y. gets it right"
http://tinyurl.com/628nh5

its a privilege to play............................not a right.
these dudes got it right!!!

Basketball is an EXTRA CURRICULAR program, its a privilege not a right and if you do not succeed in the classroom you can't on the court. I believe that they should have a team, but a team of young men that are STUDENT athletes, and those who choose not to attend classes or misbehave will miss out.

This story..seems wierd. What school goes from winning a AA championship, to not having a team at all? This seems more like those hollywood publicity stunts. I mean there must be students who are willing to play the game and sport, so why not put them on the team instead of just cancelling it? This seems all to much of an attention grab scenerio.

The article mentions that about half of the 17 team members had issues. So 8-9 players out of 17. Why couldn't they still have a team with the rest of the players and fill the rest of the spots with other students. They wouldn't be as competitive but perhaps some of the 8-9 players would change for the better if they knew a team still existed. Why would they change their behavior now? Still, congratulations on pulling the plug. Basketball is a privilidge.

Very interesting decision.
As a graduate of the Ottawa H.S. basketball system (Glebe Collegiate) it definitely saddened me to hear this story. A.Y Jackson has long been a strong and competitive program in the National Capital area as proven by their OFSAA AA Championship last year.

I'm sure as a Coach it was very difficult for Steve Ashfiled to decide to cancel the whole season, especially coming off a OFSAA Championship, but that's 100% correct, sports are a privilege not a right.

At the same time, the team just came off winning OFSAA, 250 students did a protest, 400 signed a petition and players were willing to sign contracts of good behaviour. Why not just cut the kids who were consistently breaking the rules and work with the good ones who were doing the right things in the classroom There must be enough good students, and hard working kids to field a team of 12 players at a solid school like A.Y. Jackson! (Wikipedia states student population just under 870 students)

I think too many schools in Canada discount the value of athletics in a full, well rounded education, and are too quick to give up on athletics or arts programs.
Sports teach work ethic, commitment, discipline, teamwork, and structure, and support lessons taught in the classroom. Cutting a sports program is not a form of discipline I would condone or support. If there were a couple of kids that were poor academically or cancers to the team, cut them as an example to the rest of the players, and suspend those that are borderline...

Sports in High Schools needs more support from School Boards, teachers, government and parents. Lets not be so quick to give up on athletics, it's too important in kids' development, and to our society as a whole.

It's probably not as easy as that and there must be more to it. It's a AA school and there aren't usually alot of extra ball players in such a small school to replace the "bad" students. I can only imagine the turmoil at that school and that it must be really bad for the coach to pull the plug after winning it all last year.

Just because they were an OFSAA champion or what ever it doesn't mean they should have a team again even if they don't reach the certain standards. They do this because hey want to push students and show them that they are serious. What if a really good player like you has an opportunity to get a scholarship meaning u don't got to pay for most things in most cases and if u have that opportuinity for a scholarship with no grade requirments that u need...then your opportunity goes down the drain.


So think about it whether it should be a privelage or a right.

[quote="Coach Philippe"]Very interesting decision.
As a graduate of the Ottawa H.S. basketball system (Glebe Collegiate) it definitely saddened me to hear this story. A.Y Jackson has long been a strong and competitive program in the National Capital area as proven by their OFSAA AA Championship last year.

I'm sure as a Coach it was very difficult for Steve Ashfiled to decide to cancel the whole season, especially coming off a OFSAA Championship, but that's 100% correct, sports are a privilege not a right.

At the same time, the team just came off winning OFSAA, 250 students did a protest, 400 signed a petition and players were willing to sign contracts of good behaviour. Why not just cut the kids who were consistently breaking the rules and work with the good ones who were doing the right things in the classroom There must be enough good students, and hard working kids to field a team of 12 players at a solid school like A.Y. Jackson! (Wikipedia states student population just under 870 students)

I think too many schools in Canada discount the value of athletics in a full, well rounded education, and are too quick to give up on athletics or arts programs.
Sports teach work ethic, commitment, discipline, teamwork, and structure, and support lessons taught in the classroom. Cutting a sports program is not a form of discipline I would condone or support. If there were a couple of kids that were poor academically or cancers to the team, cut them as an example to the rest of the players, and suspend those that are borderline...

Sports in High Schools needs more support from School Boards, teachers, government and parents. Lets not be so quick to give up on athletics, it's too important in kids' development, and to our society as a whole. [/quote]


I agree

This is definitely a very controversial issue, and I don't think there's any easy answer.
Coach Steve Ashfield obviously loves basketball as he is a volunteer Coach that has given time and effort in building his program at A.Y. Jackson, so to pull the plug on his own team must have been extremely difficult.

It's tough for the Coach, it's tough for the players that WERE doing the right things on the court and in the classroom, and it's tough for the students at the school that no longer have a team to support.

Definitely no easy answer here. No doubt, extracurricular activities are a privilege, not a right and the situation must have been extreme to cancel the whole season....

This conversation has also been going on in another basketball forum (hooplife) and I am amazed that there are people that actually try to argue against the decision to pull the team. Yes athletics provide a great opportunity for students to get involved in school life and the young men and women can learn valuable lessons through sports. However, there are many issues being overlooked here. The coach is a volunteer and a staff member at the school. If he chooses not to coach a team because of the behaviours of the athletes then he is well within his rights. The principal is in charge of all programs that runs in her school. If she deems that providing a basketball team will do more harm than good then she [b]must[/b] make these tough decisions in order to provide the highest quality of education for all of the students in her school. It was not like this was a rushed decision. I coach in Ottawa and have been following this very closely. There have been several efforts on behalf of the coach and administration to keep this team from folding but the players would not cooperate so, in essence, the players made the decision to not have a team. The point was put to the guys to start acting like responsible students or else they would lose their team. They chose to lose the team rather than live up to their responisibilities. Coach Phillipe highlighted that less than half of the school signed a petition and staged a protest against this decision. This leaves me with the impression that over half of the school support the administration's decision (but we could never really know for sure).
Instead of criticizing a principal's decision for how she runs her school, perhaps the rest of us in the basketball community could learn from what has happened so that we can keep the programs that are still running. I would much rather look at this as an opportunity for us to appreciate the privileges our schools, principals, and coaches provide us with than complain about the high standards one school chooses to hold its students to. Lastly, I find this somewhat encouraging in that we are often hearing in the news or reading on websites like this that schools, coaches, and players are not being held accountable for their actions. This is one instance that proves that basketball is a part of life and not life in and of itself!

I would have to agree with the coach’s and school’s decision to cancel the season. Players, students, and parents must realize that school is more important than a high school basketball team. They will have some great experiences participating on the basketball team, the possibility of going to OFSAA again, participating in away tournaments, forging great friendships with other players on the team and some may even dream of playing basketball at a higher level.

The one thing that they all must remember is that it is great that you have forged new friendships an aspire to become a better basketball player at a higher level but how are you going to get there?? Without the grades or education you will not have that opportunity. Post secondary schools look for a variety of things when choosing a player, not just their basketball gift but other qualities. Does this player attend all classes and maintain good grades, will they respect their coaches, and will they represent their school, their team and their coaches positively in the community.

By the school suspending the TEAM it shows that they want a team that aspires to be all of the above. There is a reason why we call participants in school sports STUDENT athletes. They are students before athletes. It’s unfortunate for the players that maintained these standards but you are a team, you won OFSAA AA as a team and should be disciplined as a team as well. It is the team’s responsibility to keep everyone above the standard that which the school sets; they all knew what the school standards were when they signed the school contracts.

I commend the school and coaches for what they have done and I hope that the student athletes at the Jr. level take note and do not repeat the Sr. teams mistakes in the future.

I agree with you both Coach C and Coach Hopps, academics absolutely has to come first and if players not taking care of they're responsibilities there have to be consequences!
The ultimate consequence, as we see in this case is not being able to play, and canceling the team as a whole.

The fact that the Coach is a volunteer and takes time out of his schedule and family is definitely huge, and as a Coach here in Toronto of course I can relate. This is a hot-button issue and there is definitely no easy answer.

Ultimately it's up to the Coach and Principal to decide what's best for their school and no one else can make the decision for them!

The right answer is that athletics are a privilege not a right, and the decision made must be respected.

We all as Coaches have had to discipline kids, suspend them or cut them from teams for not taking care of things in the classroom. But to cancel the program as a whole, it must have been a very tough situation!!

I was just giving a different point of view for arguments sake, ultimately it's not up to anyone other than the Coach of A.Y. Jackson, the A.D. and the Principal of that school.

It's also Discipline...no advantage should be used upon a sports team because its a right or privelage. There is both sides to this