A Texas high school girls basketball team 100-0

DALLAS -- A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 game has a case of blowout remorse.

Now officials from The Covenant School say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.


"It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened," Kyle Queal, the head of the school, said in a statement, adding the forfeit was requested because "a victory without honor is a great loss."

The private Christian school defeated Dallas Academy last week. Covenant was up 59-0 at halftime.

A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press that Covenant continued to make 3-pointers -- even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points.

"I think the bad judgment was in the full-court press and the 3-point shots," said Renee Peloza, whose daughter plays for Dallas Academy. "At some point, they should have backed off."

Dallas Academy coach Jeremy Civello told The Dallas Morning News that the game turned into a "layup drill," with the opposing team's guards waiting to steal the ball and drive to the basket. Covenant scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and "finally eased up when they got to 100 with about four minutes left," he said.

Dallas Academy has eight girls on its varsity team and about 20 girls in its high school. It is winless over the last four seasons. The academy boasts of its small class sizes and specializes in teaching students struggling with "learning differences," such as short attention spans or dyslexia.

There is no mercy rule in girls basketball that shortens the game or permits the clock to continue running when scores become lopsided. There is, however, "a golden rule" that should have applied in this contest, said Edd Burleson, the director of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Both schools are members of this association, which oversees private school athletics in Texas.

"On a personal note, I told the coach of the losing team how much I admire their girls for continuing to compete against all odds," Burleson said. "They showed much more character than the coach that allowed that score to get out of hand. It's up to the coach to control the outcome."

In the statement on the Covenant Web site, Queal said the game "does not reflect a Christ-like and honorable approach to competition. We humbly apologize for our actions and seek the forgiveness of Dallas Academy, TAPPS and our community."

Covenant coach Micah Grimes did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Queal said school officials met with Dallas Academy officials to apologize and praised "each member of the Dallas Academy Varsity Girls Basketball team for their strength, composure and fortitude in a game in which they clearly emerged the winner."

Civello said he appreciated the gesture and has accepted the apology "with no ill feelings."

At a shootaround Thursday, several Dallas Academy players said they were frustrated during the game but felt it was a learning opportunity. They also said they are excited about some of the attention they are receiving from the loss, including an invitation from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to see an NBA game from his suite.

"Even if you are losing, you might as well keep playing," said Shelby Hyatt, a freshman on the team. "Keep trying, and it's going to be OK."

Peloza said the coach and other parents praised the Dallas Academy girls afterward for limiting Covenant to 12 points in the fourth quarter. She added that neither her daughter nor her teammates seemed to dwell on the loss.

"Somewhere during that game they got caught up in the moment," Peloza said of the Covenant players, fans and coaches. "Our girls just moved on. That's the happy part of the story."

WOW

There have been a number of games this season where one team beats another by 30,40 or 50 points. I don't necessarily think that this is poor sportsmanship.

(I don't mean to single out Vaughn in this next bit, they just happen to be one of the teams I have had experience with).
A week or two ago Vaughn beat St. Theresa by about 60 pts. I don't think they'll be making an appology for that any time soon. Is there really a difference between that game and the one mentioned in the article?

During the RimRocker Loyola played Vaughn and was down by 20+ points with 4 minutes left. I knew we had no chance to win I so put in the entire bench so that they could see what its like to play against a top team. Vaughn didn't let up one bit. They continued to pour it on and beat us by about 40. Dinjyl Walker was on the floor for the last 4 minutes and ended up scoring 40 points on us that game. He probably scored 10 points in the last 4 minutes.

It was an honour to play against them and I don't blame them one bit. They're a top team and if you want to play against them you better be a top team too. When you get crushed its just telling you where you really belong among the other teams.

I don't beleive in purposely rubbing a team's nose in the dirt or kicking them when they're down. However, if your team has a deep bench and no matter who you put on the court you're still better than the other team, then you'll continue to build up your lead.

As a coach you can call off a press or put in your bench but you can't tell the kids that you have on the floor to stop playing their hardest just because you're beating the other team.

Vaughan has had some issues with pressing teams when the game is out of reach. It seems to me like coach Alkins is a respected coach, but too many coaches have voiced their concerns.

I would like to add a comment form Coach Alkins in a previous Thread-

"Jr. Scores from this season are listed below. As many as I could find. Maybe all these coaches need to go?
And have the YMCA run basketball in the GTA and every player gets equal minutes accross Ontario. What do you think?

And by the way how many of the TOP grade 9 and 10 players in Ontario are taking all the required "academic" courses...just in case they need to clear for the NCAA by their senior year?
I have 6 elite grade 9/10 players on the team and each of them as of today
are on the path to being cleared by the NCAA. I timetabled them all with the support of their parents.

This Season Jr. Boys Basketball scores: referenced from HooptownGTA & YRAA websites....

Jean Vanier 77 Yeshivat 35
Pope 86 Brebeuf 39
MT 91 Liberman 48
Pope 87 Yeshivat 29
Brebeuf 73 Liberman 31
Pope 85 Hebrew Academy 38
Vanier 87 St Patricks 31
Brebeuf 72 St Patricks 30
MT 89 St Patricks 23
Carr A 87 Thistletown 36
Carr B 57 London Beal 19
MT 96 Mary Ward 31
Pope 95 Neil McNeil 36
Brebeuf 76 Cardinal Newman 13
MT 106 Comm Hebrew 57
Neil McNeil 76 Mary Ward 32
Brebeuf 68 Yeshivat 26
MT 93 Cardinal Newman 21
Carr 95 Romero 51
Monsignor Johnson 74 Don Bosco 20
Carr 85 Chaminade 30
Carr 97 Don Bosco 39
Michael Power 91 Morrocco 47
Carr B 85 Bishop Allen 46

Williams 62 Lady of the Lake 24 (Senior)

Woodbridge 77 Stephen Lewis 37
Maple 64 Bressani 21

So I look at these scores and he has a point

I think, there is a bit of bad blood between Coach Alkins and others, I am very surprised to see comments associated with this b/c a team Like Vaughan has stepped out of the Normal in York Region and is competing with other top programs Provincial Wide (Possibly)

To ALL

How do you expect to improve your athletes if you dont play the top teams?

Coach Paul stated its was a honour, and if i was a coach, I would want to play Top teams, because it sets a level of expectations and a measurement to what other Top Programs (Pickering, Pope, Easter. MT) bring every year

Bottom Line - York Region - You have to play like Vaughan to beat them..Good LUck!

People just don't get it. Our priority should not be building Basketball
Programs. Our priority is education through sport. I thought it was simple enough for coaches to understand...when your up by 25 or more TAKE OFF YOUR PRESS!!!! Put in your bench and ENJOY watching those kids who have the character to WORK HARD IN PRACTICE get some playing time.

I'm just left really appreciating the lessons my coaches taught me. It inspired me to be an EDUCATOR as well.

I believe Dan Lebowitz, executive director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, said it best:

"Sports should involve three things – cooperative spirit, healthy competition, and sportsmanship. I think when any of those three things are trumped by somebody who doesn't understand what healthy competition is, and competition becomes for them a matter of crushing an opposition ... that's nothing but an unhealthy lesson for all the participants and kind of gives a bad name to the whole concept and ideal of sport as it is."

"If it's evident that your best is dominant, at some point, you have to look at the whole equation. And when the level of the landscape is so tilted, you react to that. That's a lesson of humanity."

And for any coaches all right with blowing out a team, keep the following in mind, stated by the founder and president of the National Alliance for Youth Sports:

"Kids don't think about how the opponent feels. It's a coach's job to do that. Coaches must understand that winning games by lopsided margins doesn't mean that they're great coaches, or that they are having meaningful influences on their players. We need coaches that act in the best interests of their players rather than their own egos."

And to any players who think blowing out your opponent is okay, here is a comment made by the head of the school that won the game 100-0:

"A victory without honour is a great loss."

Zen Master, I thought we all moved on. I guess not.
I thought we agreed to disagree on this one particular game. I guess not.
At the top, the bullseye gets bigger and the scrutiny comes along with that. There is defintely a learning curve when your at the top, but on any given day you can lose, does that 1 loss defeat the journey? I would like to think not.

Robert Frost is spinning in his grave with that hugely mistaken allusion.
LOL

[quote="the General"]People just don't get it. Our priority should not be building Basketball
Programs. Our priority is education through sport. I thought it was simple enough for coaches to understand...when your up by 25 or more TAKE OFF YOUR PRESS!!!! Put in your bench and ENJOY watching those kids who have the character to WORK HARD IN PRACTICE get some playing time.

I'm just left really appreciating the lessons my coaches taught me. It inspired me to be an EDUCATOR as well.[/quote]


First off I want to say to the Vaughn coach that I loved our game and I thouroughly enjoyed watching his team play. It was truely a treat. Keep doing whatever it is your doing.

As I've stated before, I don't beleive in humiliating a team or rubbing salt into a wound, but there is a very fine line that we walk here.

The end goal that we have in any game is to win, otherwise why don't we all sit around a table and sing "kum by ya". When I've made previous posts saying things like "winning by 1 point doesn't make you a better team", I was crucified. Everyone, including coaches said that if winning by 1 point doesn't matter, then whenever a game is close why don't we just call it a draw? The point everyone is making loud and clear is that they take winning a game very seriously, otherwise what is it exactly we're playing for?

What everyone needs to realize is that there are different levels of competition and YOU the parent and YOU the child need to sit down and have a family discussion about what your aspirations in the game really are. You can then gear yourself for the level of competition that is right for you.

When your child is 10 years old we have "equal playing time" rules. This ensures that every kid gets an equal opprotunity to play throughout the game. As they get older, the rules change and the equal play time goes away. In addition, the refs call the play in a different way. The minor travel and carry calls are no longer overlooked and kids need to start to play "real" basketball.

If your child has no aspirations of getting a scholarship or going to the next level in basketball, then perhaps a YMCA pickup league is where you should be playing. It's just a friendly game where eveyone has fun and gets some good excercise.

In contrast, most kids that play AAA basketball are dead serious about the game (they live to play - I know because I live with one of those kids). Many kids in highschool feel that it might be their only way to get into college.

I'll give you a real life example of where "... when your up by 25 or more TAKE OFF YOUR PRESS!!!! Put in your bench and ENJOY watching those kids ..." didn't work so well. Two years ago the Mississauga Monarchs were ranked #1 in Ontario. We won most of our tournaments and were favored to win the OBA championship. In a semi-final game against scarborough we were up by 25 points with 5 minutes left to play. We put in our bench so that they could participate in our victory. Scarborough put on a press and made us cough up the ball several times in 30 seconds. The lead was now down to 15 points with about 4 minutes to play. We went down the court and missed, they came down the court and hit a 3 pointer (the lead down to 11). We are desperately trying to get our starters back in, but by the time we did the lead is down to 5 points with 2 minutes left. Scarborough had momentum and we were in a panic. We ended up losing the game. Now, if this can happen to the #1 team in Ontario, think of what can happen to a highschool team. The main reason we put in all the bench players is because of parental pressure. We had a meeting with all of the parents before the OBAs and they felt that we needed to give the bench more playing time because they work just as hard as the other guys and paid the same amount of money to join the team. That didn't work out so well did it?

I'll say it again - I don't beleive in crushing a team for the sake of crushing them. But, as a player I think that you need to realize that the longer you're in the game the more fierce the competition is and the less "fair" things become. Only the best players survive. Take a look at a guy like "Ryan Wright". He was a superstar here, but when he got to UCLA he only averaged about 4-6 minutes of play time. Why didn't the UCLA coach play him more? He worked hard didn't he? I'm sure he did, but there were other players with seniority and who were better. The bottom line is that the UCLA coach did what he thought he needed to do to win. At that level, its not about "enjoying watching people play", its about winning. No, our kids are not at that level yet. But if they want to get there, then they'd better get used to the cold cuel world and the harsh realities that lie there.

Red Herring... too bad you didn't have timeouts left
* #1 team without a bench? Is that because they hardly ever got a chance to play
* please distinguish OBA vs. High SCHOOL
* I wonder why parental pressure was such an issue with the #1 team?
* "Many kids in high school feel its there only way of getting into college"
AND YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SET THEIR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT !!!!
Since when did that become a reason to argue "ITS about winning"
* Division I basketball is fraught with problems. At that level, big money for successful programs rules the day. Coaches, for the most part, are concerned only with winning so that they can keep their 6 figure job. The low graduation percentages are well documented. Is that what you would like to see in Canada??

BTW, I played on a ranked team at University in Canada. You can get to that level without playing for a coach who believes winning, and winning big, is very important. The world need not be cold and cruel.

Red Herring... too bad you didn't have timeouts left
* #1 team without a bench? Is that because they hardly ever got a chance to play
* please distinguish OBA vs. High SCHOOL
* I wonder why parental pressure was such an issue with the #1 team?
* "Many kids in high school feel its there only way of getting into college"
AND YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SET THEIR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT !!!!
Since when did that become a reason to argue "ITS about winning"
* Division I basketball is fraught with problems. At that level, big money for successful programs rules the day. Coaches, for the most part, are concerned only with winning so that they can keep their 6 figure job. The low graduation percentages are well documented. Is that what you would like to see in Canada??

BTW, I played on a ranked team at University in Canada. You can get to that level without playing for a coach who believes winning, and winning big, is very important. The world need not be cold and cruel.

"Coach Paul", I feel that you are missing the point. Very few kids who play high school ball believe that they will play at the next level. Even fewer actually go on to do so. The goal in all games is to win but to do so with a lack of class is as bad as a loss.
I find that Coach Adkins does a fair job of not rubbing it in so I do not have any qualms with his style. To press until you reach a 100 points is pathetic. Your example with the Monarch's is a very rare case but keep in mind, the ball played at the OBA level is a lot more serious than high school.In the NBA(A professional league) it is strongly frowned upon when a team is considered to be rubbing it in with a big lead. Actually, it is a very fine line in all sports. Coaches will send out players to give a message when they feel their team is being disrespected. Remember the KNicks and Denver Nuggets game? I felt you missed the point on the 1 point victory arguement as you continued to point the finger at officials. I once again, feel you have missed the point. Nobody is here saying let's hold hands and sing "Kuum by ya" as you are reffering to. I'm certainly not.

Just my opinion.

[quote="coachalkins"]Zen Master, I thought we all moved on. I guess not.
In this 34 game season, we went to Eastern, M.T., Carr, Rimrocker, SBA, and our tournament(6 high profile tournaments). In York region we played 5 regional games, all wins within 30 points or less was the differential, as per the new rules, 1 compaint by a coach that was later determined to be officialy unfounded, we could have beaten teams by 100, we did not. When we got into the pool of #1 ranked teams...the St. Augustine coach told us "to keep scoring". No comlplaints. The Newmarket coach had no complaints. I have received 1 official complaint this season. 1 out of 34, not bad. I have not had any coach in 15 years of coaching in 4 different countries, come to me with this same amount of venom. I'm not sure why it continues?
We are treading on delicate ground, in terms of slander and character assasination and/or defamation of character. As Professionals we are bound by rules and regulations. The Ontario College of Teachers and OSSTF. There is a process. We can agree that something was learned that game by all. Vaughan Basketball is learning and growing and developing every day and every season in a positive direction. The positive feedback we are getting is overwhelming some days, by admin, staff, students, parents, community workers, families and friends. My first year at Vaughan we were not ranked, next seaon ranked 5-8 in the GTA, this season with the added addition of Coach Paul (CanSix) we are #3, some say top 3 on any given day. We as a community should be proud of this. At the top, the bullseye gets bigger and the scrutiny comes along with that. There is defintely a learning curve when your at the top, but on any given day you can lose, does that 1 loss defeat the journey? I hope when all is said and done, we can all take the higher road vs. the road less travelled.[/quote]

I love how a coach runs up the score and then they throw the Ontario College of Teachers rules and regulations into the mix when questions come up. Coach even though you have detailed for everyone your impressive resume and the rise of the Vaughan junior basketball program under your leadership, your an idiot if you think beating a team by 60 or having your studs on in the last couple of minutes in a blow out is justified. Hope the club players keep on coming to you as it sounds like you have pissed off a lot of people.

[quote="CoachPaul] In contrast, most kids that play AAA basketball are dead serious about the game (they live to play - I know because I live with one of those kids). Many kids in highschool feel that it might be their only way to get into college. [/quote]

Somebody needs to change those kids thought process who think basketball is there only way to college, because THE only way to college is through books and the classroom! Without the marks aspirations of playin post secondary are meaningless!

Just a thought...
Vaughan Juniors gave up more points than 15 of the 24 schools in Tier I (in Tiered play). They also scored over 300pts. Only two other of the 24 teams scored over 200.
It seems your concern is scoring, scoring, scoring! And, of course, when you are giving up lots of points you need to press, press, press, to score more!
I know it feeds the ego, and pleases the fans, but is it good basketball??

Please, let's not get into an argument. I respect everyone's opinion. I respect how you feel things should be run. All I'm doing is giving my experience/point of view.

I totally agree that running up scores is uncalled for. I've always agreed with this point. All I'm saying is that the world is not the bed of roses that many of us would like it to be. We have to be realistic about how the real world of basketball is (not what we'd like it to be, but what it already is) and prepare our kids to play in that world.

I'm going to try to address a few of your points "General" ...

"Red Herring... too bad you didn't have timeouts left
* #1 team without a bench? Is that because they hardly ever got a chance to play
* please distinguish OBA vs. High SCHOOL
* I wonder why parental pressure was such an issue with the #1 team?
* "Many kids in high school feel its there only way of getting into college"
AND YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SET THEIR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT !!!!

Not a Red Herring .. maybe a trout or a bass ???
1) In OBA you play using FIBA rules. Using FIBA rules you can't call a timeout or get a substitution whenever you want (like you can in highschool ball). So, although we had timeouts we couldn't call them when we wanted to.
2) We were the #1 team because we had 3 or 4 of the best kids in the province playing on the team. Although the rest of the team was good, they weren't of the calibre required to win an OBA championship. Our starting lineup is what got us there.
3) The main difference between OBA and Highschool is that OBA teams are composed of the best kids from many schools that live in a region, while highschool teams are composed of just the kids that go to that school. As a result, you usually have much better players on a single OBA team than you do in highschool. This makes the competition to get on the team much tougher (you try out against 80 good kids instead of 30 guys that maybe aren't so good). This also means that when you play a game you're usually playing a much tougher team than you would in highschool. I've said this before and I'll say it again - A team like the Monarchs from last year would beat any highschool team in the GTA without much problem.
4) The reason for the parental pressure was that we needed to play our best players most of the time in order to win our tournaments. This meant that some of the bench guys didn't see any playing time in some of the really close games. Parents naturally are upset that their kid didn't get to play. As the OBAs drew closer, the parents of the bench players wanted to voice their concerns. The coaches listened and unfortunately in this case it cost us.
5) "YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SET THEIR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT" - I can tell a kid to study all I want, it's not going to suddenly turn them into Einstein. Not all kids have a 140 I.Q! For some kids, becoming great at some sport is their only way out of their current situation. You can tell kids to "study hard and become a doctor" - for some kids this is just not possible and sports is the only way out/up. It might also shock you about how many parents put school on the back burner when their son is a star athelete. If a parent is pushing their own child to do something, who the heck am I to stick my nose in their business and tell them otherwise?

From my personaly experince I always found high school games more competitive and tougher than OBA games. Simply because 3 out of my 5 years in high school I played against people who were older, stronger and more experienced than I was. In OBA you go against your own age group.

[quote="stevelogan92"]From my personaly experince I always found high school games more competitive and tougher than OBA games. Simply because 3 out of my 5 years in high school I played against people who were older, stronger and more experienced than I was. In OBA you go against your own age group.[/quote]

Everyone's experience is different. All I know is that on last year's Monarchs we had one of the best kids from Henry Carr (Theon Reefer), the best kid from St. Joan of Arc (Wells Davis), one of the best from Loyola (Nik Stauskas), the best from St. Mikes (Renier Croft), Tychon Carter Newman (not sure which school). I'd like to see any single highschool team in the GTA beat that lineup.

The point is that an OBA team can attract the best players from a number of schools, whereas a single school will only have the players that happen to go there. So, because of this, my opinion is that "most" OBA teams are stronger than "most" highschool teams. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of OBA teams that are really really bad and there are highschool teams that are really really good. For example, I beleive the the existing Vaughn, Pope or Henry Carr A team could be very competitive with any OBA team.

With respect to bench players I believe they do not get a fair shake. Coaches need to work with what they have which means developing the whole team not just starters and star players. In doing so it will make the whole team better and you may actually end up with a bench you didn't think you have.

In the early part of the season you need to integrate the bench (1 or 2 at a time, not necessarily the whole bench at the same time) into regular play and also crunch time so they can experience it and be ready for it when the time comes. Who knows when an injury happens, players get in foul trouble, etc...

Yes not all bench players are cut out for prime time, yes seniority comes into play and their time may be limited however does anyone think how that bench player feels just sitting there watching while the team wins and not feel a part of the win or only get garbage minutes. Does it help that player's confidence or self worth? Everyone selected on a team (for whatever reason) has a role and should feel part of the team. In some cases the bench player is the one who really works hard (in practice and academically) and have good character, why do they end up being punished or not given a vote of confidence by not playing or playing garbage minutes only?

What is the real purpose of high school ball or OBA win at all cost and forget a player's self worth? Development (doesn't matter what level you play you are always developing)? Prepare for the future and life lesson? Give opportunities to only those "star players" or all players for scholarships (athletic or academic)?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think winning is a bad thing but at what cost at this level of basketball?

Coach Paul the schools you listed that are really good high schools teams have top OBA players on them for most of their starting line-up and/or bench and they play on top OBA teams.

right on. It is the wise and skilled coach who recognizes how to use bench players in their games. Teams that win big often should be using their bench all season. It seems, however, that too many coaches think they must win big and,therfore, leave kids sitting.
Let's give our EGO'S a rest.

It really amazes me that here we are still talking about teams Blowing up Teams by 60. So I see that there is a list of teams that have blown teams away, How come they are not a topic? Its Interesting again, that this Mr Alkins Character is getting smudged in this topic.


Coach Imgrund

Did you learn anything or your players learn anything from that game, besides "Morals" and,
If you had to meet again do you have a game plan for your team to prevent this from happening, or are you saying that you as a Coach have no chance against this team and would fold?

It seems to me you are being politically correct on how sports should be played...hmmm

When Denham Brown scored over 100 points in highschool on a team Did it bother you?

[quote="bballfan"]With respect to bench players I believe they do not get a fair shake. Coaches need to work with what they have which means developing the whole team not just starters and star players. In doing so it will make the whole team better and you may actually end up with a bench you didn't think you have.

In the early part of the season you need to integrate the bench ....... .[/quote]


Beleive me when I tell you I know exactly what you're talking about. I was one of those "bench" guys in highschool. I always thought I was better than some of the starters and I was often bitter about the lack of minutes I got. Do you want to get a really good laugh? I truely thought I was better than Leo Rautins. Do you think I had just a little bit of an over inflated opinion of my playing ability? Unfortunately many kids are in denial about what their true abilities are, just as I was.

My older son Peter played on the Loyola Sr. team a few years ago. He too was a bench player. He also played on the Marauders - and was a bench player there too. One year we went to the OBAs in Windsor and got a hotel room for 2 nights. My son never saw one second of play in the entire tournament. How happy do you think I was spending all that money and never seeing my son play for one second?

Although he loved the game, we sat down with him and laid down the facts ... "son, you're not good enough to play on these teams". Truth be told, I wasn't good enough to start and neither was my son. You need to face the facts. My son now plays house league in University and is having a ton of fun.

What I'm trying to convey to everyone is that basketball is a game that anyone can play and have fun at. Playing competitive level basketbal is NOT for everyone. Take a look at the Raptors for example. You have a guy like Chris Humphrys that works his ass off and performs quite well when he's on the court, but he hardly gets any minutes at all. Last year he started for a while, but now you hardly see him. It's no longer just about how hard you work or how much you want it. Guess what? Everyone wants it!

I would love to give everyone on the team equal play time. The cold hard truth is that if I did, then we wouldn't win a single game. How much fun is it to play on a team that never wins? What kind of kids will your school attract to its program if you're known as the team that's always at the bottom?

It's truely amazing at how fast you can lose points if you have a couple of bench players on the floor while a really good team puts on a press. I say this from personal experience because this has happend to me on several occations this year. We're up by 15 points, so I put in some bench guys. The other team puts on the press and these guys can't break it. 2,4,6,8 points go down the drain in a matter of seconds. Now what? Do I take off the bench guys that I just put in 60 seconds ago? No, I keep them in. Now the lead is gone and everyone on the team is calling me an idiot for not putting the starters back on. I don't want to lose the game so I do. We get the lead back and win, but the bench only got 2 minutes. Should I keep the bench on longer and lose the game?

If you have a deep bench then rotating guys in and out of your lineup is not a big deal. But when you only have 3 or 4 guys that can really play you become somewhat handcuffed on what you can do without throwing the game away.

[quote="Zen Master"]Coach Imgrund

Did you learn anything or your players learn anything from that game, besides "Morals" and,
If you had to meet again do you have a game plan for your team to prevent this from happening, or are you saying that you as a Coach have no chance against this team and would fold?

It seems to me you are being politically correct on how sports should be played...hmmm

When Denham Brown scored over 100 points in highschool on a team Did it bother you?[/quote]

All of the comments I've made in this topic have been about blowing out a team in general, nothing specific. As Coach Alkins has said and I agreed, let's forget about that game.

My comments are politically correct because I agree with the general notion that we are educators first, coaches second. I'm not trying to impress anyone - it's how I feel.

When Denham Brown scored 100 points, it DID bother me. From what I believe, Denham was already signed to UConn at the time. What was the purpose of scoring 100 points? Exposure? Even if he wasn't signed, what does scoring 100 points against a team prove? That you are a one-man team? That you have no humility? It didn't impress me at all.

The point I am making is that bench players particularly in high school and below and or OBA often are not given the opportunity to play and are sometimes just a number for practice. Why bother having them on the team and (especially in OBA where a lot of money is forked out) why waste people's time and money selecting a player you are not going to play or try to develop.

I am not saying that everyone plays equal time or every player is cut out to play at a high level nor am I saying to throw a game away but work with what you have and with good coaching you never know what may happen over time. I know a coach who had mediocre players and maybe 1 or 2 exceptional players for years who managed to exploit each player's strength and develop them to be top ten in the province in OBA year in and out. Now he has all kind of "good" players wanting to play for him now because of the foundation he has built and respect. This does require a lot of time and effort that a lot of volunteer coaches do not have the time or gym time to do but even in little doses it can make a difference.

I agree reality and honesty comes into play and as long as the player knows their role and still wants to stay that is the player/parent's choice and if the coach decides to keep the player they still deserve an opportunity.

As for the NBA/professional it is a whole different level and a business since players are paid whether they play or not but it may be tough on their egos. That is part of professional business but at high school/OBA yes you want to win, have a sense of pride and competition but at the end of day what is the real purpose?