I was put on notice of this discussion and this will be my first post! No matter what is stated in my post, people will be split on the correct way to handle scoring on another team. This post is to state there was no bad sportsmanship by either school in this match! It was not a "running up a score" game. At no time was the coach or any player jumping up and down, yelling and cheering for more goals. Yes! They smiled at their team mate for the hard work. Niether team displayed bad sportsmanship or played ugly! It was a bad night for both teams. One trying to prepare for one of the hardest matches they will play (Riverside #1 in the State) and the other trying to rebuild a program. Both coaches and players using the match to build on and develop into better players and as a team. It is very unfair for people to group all high scoring matches/coaches into the same category of "running up the score"! It is unfair to both coaches and the players! The coaches want to teach and develop a players skill! The player is wanting to practice that skill in a game!
With that being said and both sides of the fence having a voice on this site - Below is some information regarding the game:
This was a Region match;
15 WHHS players on the bench;
2 different keepers played;
9 different players scored;
9 different players assisted;
5 goals scored by defensive players;
5 goals scored by players who have never scored;
2 fouls the entire game one by both team (no dirty play);
WHHS 32 shots on goal;
Greer 0 shots on goal;
30 seconds into game with Greer kick-off WHHS scores;
1:30 into game 2-0;
5:00 into game 5-0;
Three starters with goals benched @ the 5:00 mark (were put back into game to help develop other players and eventually did sit out of the game);
Players w/goals were pulled back to fullback and midfield;
All subs played in the game;
Greer keeper was hit in the head by the ball about 10:00 left in the game (I think - it was late in the game);
Yes, the coaches did what all coaches do - (WHHS coach even talked with the referee). WHHS coach started working on possesion, limit of touches, dropping the ball back, no shooting without working on a skill, ten passes before a shot, headers, flank play, playing ball back to keeper, switching the field of play, limiting the amount of goals one player could score - you can name them all and they were done and the score was still high.
I want to be clear in this post that WHHS and Greer both displayed good sportsmanship in this match! Players who scored were not ugly or rude during the match nor were the coaches or parents of WHHS. Greer girls never gave up and the WHHS girls never made fun of or displayed bad behavior. No parent in this game should be ashamed of their player or their coach! Yes! The score was high, but in this case (possibly like most games with 7,8,9,12,13,17 or 19 goals) the score should not be related to bad sportsmanship for the girls, coaches or parents. We all have seen games with much lower scores that have very bad sportsmanship and behavior - yellow cards & red cards. This game had none of this!
I caution people who make post on this site to be careful! Remember that children, moms and dads read this and people should not make untrue statments about children and volunteers who (majority of them) truly are just wanting to play and coach players to do their best.
The outrage should not be in the score but the state grouping schools the way they do. All sports have high scoring issues and all that read this post know that. Be it basketball, baseball, football, lacross or soccer. All sports deal with uneven teams! I wonder if the above sports parents have these discussions on their blogs or website. I wonder if there site would have post like: That coach should not allow the player to pitch strikes,or catch that fly ball or tag that runner out at the base (watch Bad News Bears to see how a player/team feels when a team is not trying - see what they over come to make the playoffs, see how they overcome high score games you make the call on which team had the better coach). I wonder if football blogs would read: That quarterback is making too many passes, touchdowns, maybe that player should not kick an extra point after a touchdown or field goal in the game, maybe the running back should not run the ball anymore to gain yards. Maybe the basketball player shouldn't get that rebound in a game or shoot that basket because they have never scored 10 points in a game. I guess those coaches need to sit those players after they get their touchdown, one strick, one at bat, one rebound or basket. Soccer players' are no different than any other sport they just want to play their best and score if they get a chance! And most coaches do the best they can do with the situation they are handed.
