SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Recreation & Youth Soccer Any comments on Sportsmanship - blowout basketball results

From The State newspaper, 12/7:

GIRLS
Ben Lippen 54-18 Florence Christian
Blackville-Hilda 45-16 Bamberg-Ehrhardt
Dutch Fork 74-21 Aiken
Fairfield Central 51-23 Mid-Carolina
Richard Winn 56-21 Whitmire
Richland Northeast 51-32 Providence
Ridge View 86-4 Brookland-Cayce
Saluda 51-28 Ninety Six
Spring Valley 81-26 Keenan

BOYS
Camden 67-49 McBee
Cardinal Newman 68-39 North Central
Fairfield Central 75-53 Mid-Carolina
Irmo 68-39 White Knoll
Keenan 68-51 Spring Valley
Lexington 82-55 Columbia
Newberry Academy 73-48 Covenant Christian
Ridge View 76-41 Brookland-Cayce
Saluda 80-42 Ninety Six

Having actually coached H.S. basketball, BOTH boys and girls; and having been on BOTH ends of the score ...

1) Not all blowouts are created equally. Check box scores to see how many kids played for the winners, and how the team scoring was distributed over the four quarters.
2) If you're actually at the game, see if the winning coach does such things as continuing to press, or if he/she essentially calls off the dogs.
3) Understand that some teams are really REALLY good, and some are really REALLY bad.
4) Understand that the gulf between good and bad is often wider in girls' basketball than in boys.

Of all the scores presented, the one mind-boggler is the 86-4 girls' score involving RV and BC. I would HOPE that RV was at least somewhat more gentle in the second half, but not all coaches are that way.
Three things I ALWAYS said to my kids on those (thankfully rare) occasions when we were crushed was:

1) It's up to US to compete and keep the score close.
2) As a coach, I'm more interested in how we continue to compete and work when we're CLEARLY over-matched, than when we have a big advantage. And
3) Remember how this feels, and ALWAYS treat your opponents with respect and dignity.

That said -- and you know this -- as in EVERY profession, a (happily small) minority of your colleagues ARE 4-square jerks. You smile. You shake their hands before and after, and you thank goodness YOU'RE not that way.

BTW, that was my post. Don't know how/why it came up anonymous.

86-4...wow.
I think it would be tough to stop scoring and to let the other team score in basketball.
It is hard to tell a kid that hardly ever gets to play to go in the game and don't score.
How do you stop scoring in basketball? Just hold the ball? That is more disrepectful to the other team.
I agree that not all blow outs are created equal and I am hoping that this one was done with sportsmanship.
I have been coaching in a situation where I have put my goal keeper and a back up defender up top with some team restrictions and we continue to score. It's hard to tell a kid that has never scored a goal in his life, not to score.

Not sure if this is a general question about sportmanship, or a more specific probe around HS basketball (of which I am in no way qualified to discuss)

I'm one who would suggest you need to look at the leagues, commish, tournie directors, administrators, etc. in these types of situations as much as, or more than, the coach.

Found myself in an interesting dialog around league composition the other day around a simple question. 10 youth soccer teams: Is it better to do one division and nine games or two divisions and 8 games (home and away).

The answer to this, as an example will either add, or reduce the amount of blowouts asuming the two division example is positioned with an educated look at talent and forced ranking. Top 5 in division I, and lower 5 in division II.

The delta in talent between top and bottom teams will vary considerably in each case.

Unfortunately, that's not an option in SCHSL sports. It's based largely on enrollment and geography, with a small handful of schools having nearly double the enrollment of their supposed "peers."
Equally, the sad truth at many schools in our state is that the commitment level to certain programs just isn't there.
And finally, much of this is up to the coaches, some of whom either don't care an iota about "sportsmanship," or are not capable of coaching a group of kids up to a minimally competitive level. When you get BOTH sides of the equation in a single game ...
Look out.
I spent five years coaching basketball at a school with inherent disadvantages in enrollment, including tiny groups of upperclassmen, much less ATHLETIC upperclassmen. We were everybody's Homecoming opponent. When we finally did defeat one of those teams, I simply shook the coach's hand and said, "Good game." Just as I did after he had starters on the floor in the final two minutes of a 92-28 blowout.
Ultimately, we are responsible to our kids, our schools and OURSELVES.

GOD DERN BC DONE GOT RUN UP IN BY A TEAM OF SISTAS FROM RIDGE VIEW!!!! GOD DERN!!!!

PROBABLY LOOKED A LOT LIKE THIS!!