Revisiting the Irmo situation in 2002 v. Wando will just stir up too much meaningless debate and discussion about a game that is now almost 4 years old. This poster back in May 2002 best sums it up:
J.Wilson
Registered Member
Member # 673 posted May 15, 2002 10:37 PM
As a coach, I can only say that the coach's attitude rolls downhill. I find that when I am critical of the refs, all of the players follow suit, and then their parents join in. Pretty soon, we resemble the crowd at Chapin (just kidding).
Seriously though, any negative attitude portrayed by the coach is often directly and immediately reflected in the attitudes of the players. In a nutshell, it's a perfect example of leadership gone sour.
In my mind, the great thing about soccer is that it teaches you some great truths in life like:
1. The team is stronger than the individual.
2. The best team usually wins, but the best individuals often lose.
3. Life is never as just as you'd like it to be.
4. Sometimes you lose, when you shouldn't have, and vice versa.
5. How to win with grace.
6. How to lose with dignity.
7. How to value your team's effort over the result (because winning is often out of your control).
My hunch is that few Irmo players learned any of these valuable lessons on Saturday.
Gripe or no gripe, the Irmo's coaching staff's method of handling the complaint against the referee was not reflective of proper way to handle such a complaint. A protest should have been made in writing to the high school leaque office, not a display of rage on the field.
Finally, refusing to accept the award of 2nd place was classless at every level. Kudos to the kids that went against the grain and did the right thing.
