What is best in sports? To crush your enemies, to see their coaches driven before you,
and to hear the lamentations of their parents.
Posted on 06/10/2010 9:14:56 AM PDT by walford
EMC Sports - A new rule meant to prevent blow out scores has angered some parents and participants of a local recreational soccer league.
Prior to the start of the season, the board of directors for the Gloucester Dragons added a new rule to the league's handbook to enforce the pre-existing ruling against having a final score differential of more than five goals.
According to the league handbook, "If at the end of a game there is more than a 5 goal difference in the score, the team that scored over 5 goals will have the results recorded as a loss when the game is recorded at the office."
Near the end of his team's first exhibition game May 20, 17-year-old Kevin Cappon was about to score his team's seventh goal when the referee informed his coach that if they scored another goal, they would lose the game.
Bruce Cappon watched his son put the ball out of bounds and join the rest of the team in passing the ball around until the other team narrowed the scoring gap to 6-2.
While he said he agrees that no one wants to see one team get blown out, Mr. Cappon added that penalizing the winning team is not the way to go about remedying the situation.
"If you bring a racehorse to a ploughing match, you can't blame the animals," he said.
According to Sean Cale, chair of the league's board of directors, the rule is supposed to serve as a gentle reminder to coaches to keep to the five-goal differential rule in mind.
To avoid the problem, the league has suggested some strategies, which include rotating players into other positions, passing the ball more prior to a shot on goal, kicking with the weaker foot and reducing the number of players on the field.
"I think it's a cop out," Mr. Cappon said. "They are pandering to mediocrity."
Mr. Cappon said that the league should be working more on balancing the teams instead of passing the buck onto players and coaches.
Mr. Cale agreed that team balancing is part of the problem, but that there is no easy solution and no way to please everybody.
"(The new rule) is until we find a better way," Mr. Cale said.
Cyril Moukarzel is the coach of Kevin's team. He said that he was not informed of the rule prior to the game.
"Everyone was surprised," Mr. Moukarzel said, describing the scene on the field as "chaotic" while he attempted to find some way to continue play within the rules. He said the referee suggested letting the opposing team score and taking a couple of players off of the field, which he decided against doing.
"It's not called soccer anymore," Mr. Moukarzel said.
Mr. Cale said that the rule change was communicated to coaches during pre-season meetings - without any opposition - as well as in parent communications.
However, he acknowledged that it was possible some coaches may not have been present at those meetings as the league is usually still trying to find volunteers to coach the teams up until a week before the season begins.
Although the spirit of the rule is to foster respect for the opponent, Mr. Moukarzel said that it embarrasses the losing team more to have the winning team not play to their full potential.
As he goes forward with the rest of season, Mr. Moukarzel said that when his team reaches a three-goal lead, he tells them to stop scoring and subs out his stronger players.
Mr. Cappon said he is among a group of parents who are organizing a petition for the league's board of directors to hold a special meeting to repeal the rule.
Mr. Cale said he and the board, which is made up entirely of volunteers, were surprised by the violence of reaction to the rule and wishes that parents had come to staff directly instead of airing their grievances through the media.
"The responses from parents have been quite rude and insulting," he said. "Paying a registration fee doesn't give you the right to abuse staff."
He added that he was disappointed that the fury over the rule has overshadowed the fun elements of the league. For example, in honour of the 2010 World Cup, each team is named after a competing country and has received full replica uniforms.
The Gloucester Dragons also brings in donations to send uniforms and equipment to kids who can't afford them, either in the community or in developing countries.
"Our job as board of directors is that a majority of people have a safe, fair and fun season," said Mr. Cale. "We do it because we love it."
Why don’t you just call the game at that point. In my son’s Little League football, 45+ points automatically ends the game. Winners get the win.
They look like us.
They talk like us.
But they're really not at all like us.
They are very, very different.
As a coach, I would strive to lose every game this way and dare them to have an awards ceremony :D
We had a 9 run rule in little league. A team with a 9 run lead at halfway was the winner.
Take light rail to the ballgame,
Take light rail with the crowd. (It's bustling!)
Buy me a latte, some tofu and sprouts.
I don't care if our team all make outs,
'Cause we root, root, root for both teams.
If someone wins it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes -- keep trying!
At the new ball game!!!!"
ITA
My son’s baseball league has a rather liberal “mercy rule” - if the opposing team is ahead by 10 & scores more than 5 runs in a given inning, the game is over - and the team ahead wins.
What kind of message does an automatic loss handed down teach these kids?
At the end of the season, the all the teams in the league would be tied for first place, and everyone would get a first-place trophy.
Everyone goes home happy.
(/s)
I can see a coach telling his team to score lots of goals for the opposing team.
Well, in my son’s league, the boys will fight VERY hard not to be “45ed”. I have seen several teams about to lose to fight back and start playing like they should. There have been a lot of games that were getting close to the 45 - 0 only to have the loosing team put together a drive and finally score.
That is a much more reasonable solution, but I would add a modification: Once a lead gets to a certain point, the refs calls a time-out. Then the coaches on both sides are consulted to determine if they wish to continue.
If the “losing” coach wants to allow his team a chance to come from behind — or give them an opportunity to experience a hard lesson — then the game will go on.
Or if this coach’s team is having a losing season and going through another crushing defeat would do nothing but demoralize the team further, he could ask for the opportunity to concede defeat and take his players off the field.
Having a winning team penalized for being ‘too successful’ is downright immoral.
OK, so if it’s an important game (like any of these are really important), and the other team is winning by 5 with a minute left to go in the game, and I really want my team to win -—
I just take the ball and kick it into my own goal. The other team gets a point, they are over the limit, and we win.
The guy is obviously a Liberal. Canadian has nothing to do with it. It is the creeping of PC into sports where they try to brainwash everybody with from feel-good Where Caring Happens NBA propaganda to sideline crawlers in European soccer that pounds out the message of Say No to Racism.
Good point. In business, you better learn to NEVER GIVE UP. A humiliating loss is a silver lining too, builds character. More is learned from losing, than winning. And losing certainly is more revealing of character, or the lack of it, than winning.
moral of the story:
if you strive to succeed, you will be punished.
What is best in sports? To crush your enemies, to see their coaches driven before you,
and to hear the lamentations of their parents.
That works even better.
this from a country where junior hockey players are taught to slew-foot and spear people in the groin...
Can you put your goalie in the opponent's goal to keep them from scoring that last goal for you? Johnny, if you block this kick, we'll lose 10-4 and thus win the game.
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