THE STRIKE ZONE
Sometimes Sports, Sometimes Sportsmanship
Back in February, an article and news story from the local news from Toledo summed up the plight of youth and high school athletics in a manner that couldn't be more perfect.
The thesis of the article submits that it is the parents who are the biggest culprit in destroying the institution of athletics for our youth, which is the absolute truth. In fact, the only time this isn't the case is when you get a coach who has none of his/her children on the team he/she coaches, yet still is an absolute nightmare. Why are the parents the problem? It's three fold:
The principle of this argument is very similar to that of a post we featured many moons ago when we transferred our material from our old blog. Officials want to focus "between the lines," that is, on the playing action and not on the dugouts and stands. When players, coaches, and fans berate officials, they take the focus of the official off the game and onto the unnecessary words and actions of people who do nothing but distract officials from doing their best job. It seems the same principle applies to players who want to focus on the game, not their parents pressuring them. All in all, it's real simple: shut up. Be nice. Treat others how you would want to be treated.
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February 2 is Groundhog's Day, and it may be a pretty dumb holiday. In fact, there are a lot of dumb holidays on our calendar...New Year's Eve/Day comes to mind.
But February 1 is actually an even dumber day in America It's National Signing Day. This is the day when all the star high school football players reveal which colleges they will attend in order to further their career as a football player. High school kids have "reveal" events that they post on social media; they have press conferences; they basically are thrown into the spotlight with a production that is about as mature as trying to figure out the most unique way to ask a girl to the prom. Someone is going to have to explain to me why we need this in our society. I have constantly ripped those who use the exploitation of youth sports to further their goals. I've been critical of events like the Little League World Series and why it needs to be broadcast nationally on ESPN. This is just another example of the unnecessary junk we broadcast...and America eats it up. It's bad enough that we are harming our youth and forcing them into adulthood with the big reveal of where they sign their letter of intent. Their egos have already ballooned to the size of Montana. They miss out on some of the joys of childhood and teenage years before adulthood hits them in the face with a biggest dose of reality they've experienced. And as a culture, we can't get enough of everything related to college sports. We are now dipping into high school sports on a national level and watching kids who may not even be legal adults yet commit to joining the college team to which we might pledge our allegiance. Before you know it, we will be celebrating where 8th grade kids decide to go to high school...and then we'll be celebrating 6th grade kids deciding which sports they want to play...and then we'll be celebrating toddlers as they announce which elementary school they will attend...and then we'll be analyzing the decision of parents to conceive a child...and then we'll be dissecting whether or not two people in a marriage will work... But with all that garbage being such a strong focus, National Signing Day also has one additional unique aspect to it that creates such a false sense of reality that it's time to burst the bubble. The kids who are destined to go to college to play football, as well as their families and friends, are encompassed in a fake reality that this one special person who is announcing his collegiate intent will be the savior they all need to escape the doldrums of the average middle-class life. It's as if their lives were nothing at all until they found this potential celebrity they could worship and pray that he returns with millions of dollars to divide among everyone in his entourage. Both the kid and all around him use it as a day to bask in the glory of their opportunity to show the world that it's their turn to get a moment in the sun. The ideas of personal responsibility and controlling your own destiny have become forgotten in the wake six degrees of separation from a kid who isn't even a celebrity...yet. No wonder our culture is so messed up. Let's start with a disclaimer: in New Jersey, it is forbidden to discuss matters relating to officiating high school sports on social media or any other type of Internet medium. These issues specifically reference coaches, players, and really anything else that could come back to bite the official or the state. Ergo, I can post something to social media asking my fellow umpire colleagues about recommendations for liability insurance for umpires, or about the proper mechanic for a certain play, but I can't vent about how the varsity coach of a school is a mean guy.
That being said, a basketball official in Iowa has done this. Now, he hasn't specifically named names or anything; he's in the gray zone where I wouldn't want to find myself on this issue. And an article in the Des Moines Register has picked up on these little snippets and hailed them as worthy of being viral due to their truth. The article was written by Aaron Young on January 24, 2017, about Rich Ripley. Ripley has recorded his thoughts from officiating over the past five years, which may explain one of the reasons why it hasn't occurred to him that this isn't a great idea. A five year official may not have the frame of mind to think about how this could be detrimental. Alternatively, the state of Iowa may just not have caught up. With all this on the table, the thoughts from Ripley are spot on. And the truth that comes from these quotes hit home for officials. Here are the examples shared in the article (edited for grammar, of course):
We find ourselves preaching the same thing over and over again: the officials of any sport are human. The best officials are working the professional leagues; as you go down in level and rank, the officiating follows it. (That's not to say there aren't any good officials for high school contests; the probability of human error just may increase.) These types of thoughts go through the minds of every official at all different points of their season. They are the common problems we all face in the fraternal order of officials. In addition to everything the officials feel and think, keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of officials do support the kids/players and their volunteer coaches. They want everybody to have a good time. The hard work that everybody puts in does not go unnoticed. In fact, if there's one thing to take from all this, it should be this: the best coaches and players are not necessarily the ones who garner the most victories, but rather who notice, understand, and accept the fact that the officials put in just as much (if not more) time, effort, and hard work as they do. There's a new problem facing youth sports these days, and it's affecting almost every sport at every level from high school varsity (or the equivalent) and below. Any idea what it is?
If you guessed a shortage of officials, you win. Officiating organizations throughout the nation are finding it tougher and tougher to put qualified officials on the most important games due to the sole reason that those officials may not be in the rank and file of the chapter. Then again, those same organizations are finding it difficult to put any official on some games simply because the number of available officials, regardless of level or ability, is decreasing. According to an article by Jay Fanta for Post Bulletin, there are three suggested reasons for this decline in officials:
These three points are all tied together in some fashion in addition to being individual problems. If the number of assignments increases, it demands the recruitment of more officials. But if the recruitment efforts do not yield favorable results, then those assignments can't get filled (or get filled eventually by poor officials). There's no clear cut solution to the problem in general, but any solution to any part of the problem will alleviate at least some part of the burden. We can also argue that the number of travel teams and tournaments has gotten out of hand, creating the problem of not being able to cover assignments. Kids are playing on more travel teams now than ever due to the pressure to succeed and to try to open as many athletic opportunities for success. It's great that kids get the chance to play sports and remain athletic, but it shouldn't come at the expense of letting a kid experience the things necessary to have a regular childhood. What about the culture surrounding officials? The common problem is that they're getting paid an incredibly small amount of money to put up with abuse from players, coaches, parents, and fans. Potential recruits for officiating see the abuse and make the sound decision to stay away. Entitled former players see officiating as below them. The relationships between players, coaches, and officials has become so strained that the funnel of officiating cadets has become dry. But it gets worse. In New Jersey, high school hockey officials are now boycotting their assignments because of the abuse the officials take from parents. It has gotten so bad that it has ended up in the courts. Officials will soon be wearing body cameras so as to present evidence in court to properly adjudicate the wrong doing of the parents. Ultimately, the solution comes down to respect for officials. If officials are respected on the field, they can set the example that more people should become interested in officiating. Increasing the pay will show that officiating is a decent way to earn money, which can't hurt either. But the combination of respectable compensation, pride in giving back to the community, and knowing that conflict doesn't reside on the other side of the playing field needs to be enacted to see this growing problem disappear. Just another reason why arguing with referees and umpires ends up costing you in the long run... Youth football is about to look a lot different.
USA Football, the governing body of youth football, announced changes to the game of football for youth so that it might be safer to play. It will be closer to flag football with rules such as only six to nine players on the field per team at a time instead of eleven. Other rules include shrinking the field, eliminating kickoffs and punts, and eliminating the three-point stance of linemen. The reasoning behind these changes is due to the drop in participation in youth football. It's no surprise that enrollment in youth football programs is down due to safety concerns now that concussion awareness has become widespread. So how does the sport rebound? Well, the answer is the same as it is generally in a capitalist market if you want to people to buy your product: give the people what they want. On the surface, making the game safer is a no-brainer (no pun intended). Why would anyone argue over safety concerns for children? Well, traditionalists would argue...but these are probably some of the same people who would argue against the use of helmets in any sport that requires them. See, the argument is always about safety versus when we begin to train our youth to be "soft." We keep changing so much in the world because people are sensitive to everything these days. It becomes less of a discussion about what will truly be best for our kids and more a political discussion with personal agendas and psychological overtones. But whereas that argument has its place, football has so much baggage attached to it regarding the new medical evidence regarding concussions and long-term damage to the human brain that reverting back to the side of "don't teach our kids to be wimps" demonstrates nothing more than plain ignorance. Some experts are predicting that, based on all the evidence coming out about how harmful football actually is to the human brain, the sport will cease to exist within the next twenty years. And if you consider the barbaric origins of the game and the aspects that remain in its current state, maybe that's not a bad thing. Football is entertaining, but the sport has evolved to the point where it is the modern day equivalent of the emperor watching the gladiators fight to the death purely for entertainment. The bottom line is that football is arguably the most dangerous team sport played in America. If our youth want to play it, they should play it in a manner that does not jeopardize their future. Every other sport has the potential for significantly different rules at the youth level for protection, so why can't football? This is one of the few times where the argument is clear cut. If you're still hiding behind displeasure of your kid being "soft" if he plays by these rules, then you're simply ignorant to the reality of head trauma. It takes a lot for me to turn off a Bond movie when I catch it on television. Maybe I have plans and have to go out. Perhaps it's bed time (and I can just watch it from my bed while I fall asleep). But I recently turned off a Bond marathon once I realized something.
I was watching it on the Esquire network. I have recently decided to boycott the Esquire network due to the discovery of a show they promote that is the complete antithesis of good sportsmanship: Friday Night Tykes. If you're unfamiliar with the show, Friday Night Tykes is a reality show that depicts the horrors of youth football in Texas. Normally, youth football isn't a terrible thing. However, the network promotes this show as such a good thing, rather than as a vehicle to expose what is wrong in our youth sports. The show features teams of 8 and 9 year olds being coached by adults who yell obscenities at these kids to motivate them to play hard. The adults not only curse, but they reference violence and encourage their kids to practically rip the heads off of other kids. I'd write some of the direct quotes here, but this is a family blog. In short, this is just another reality show that chooses to get ratings and viewers by putting the worst junk they can find on television and letting the public enjoy watching others suffer. It is the prime example of what all reality shows do: the exposure of people who have misguided priorities, and the opportunity of the common television viewer to laugh at those on the screen rather than look inside and try to better themselves. But now, innocent youth suffer the brunt of this propaganda. The tip of the philosophical side of these arguments resides in the name of the network. If you look up the definition of the word "esquire" beyond its meaning in the American legal world, it has a tone of representing gentlemen. The network prides itself in being themed towards the male mind as he aims to be an old-school gentlement, commenting on the finer, more posh things in the categories of fashion, cocktails, politics, and women. And yet, promoting such a television show is the exact opposite of what a gentleman might do. Being a gentleman is about respect, not about the acquisition of title, assets, women, and other possessions. The misuse of the term in its form today (especially as associated with the network) plays on our primal desire to act in superficial, selfish ways that have been promoted by a shallow society. Basically, a network that claims to be about gentlemen is doing the exact opposite, especially with the exploitation of children. Don't watch the show. Don't watch the network. Take a stand and promote some morals for once. |
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