WA private HS school team has 3 forfeit wins this season

[ctpatsfan77]

I thought this was interesting. . . .

Granite Falls becomes third team to forfeit to Archbishop Murphy HS

 

[jah]

This is what the NFL would be if Roger wasn't always keeping us in check.

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Man I know it's easy for me to say but I'm a competitor. I don't care if my opponent is 8'5 and 578 pounds, he's going to have to show up to beat my ass. And he very well may easily beat my ass but forfeiting? Not in my dictionary. But these are teenage kids and all with parental concern. I can't judge them or their parents

 

[Deus Irae]

Man I know it's easy for me to say but I'm a competitor. I don't care if my opponent is 8'5 and 578 pounds, he's going to have to show up to beat my ass. And he very well may easily beat my ass but forfeiting? Not in my dictionary. But these are teenage kids and all with parental concern. I can't judge them or their parents

It's a reflection of how times have changed. Back in "the day", the team forfeiting would have been called out for being a bunch of ****ies. Today, their parents are cheering their decision.

You can apply that throughout a whole lot of U.S. society.

 

[neuronet]

You can frame it as a bunch of kids being ****ies, or as a private school recruiting from an N mile radius these 6'5" 300 pound monsters, versus these little schools with 14 year old 175 pound freshman who are going to have no chance and going to end up injured, and who would be the first to admit they really don't give much of a **** about the game, they just do it for fun and aren't all that competitive.

If you put a pee-wee team against a college team, the results are going to be ugly. The parents are looking out for their kids, which is more than Goodell ever did for the NFL players. I'm fine with it. That little pipsqeak 14 year old math genius is never gonna be good at football, he is programming in Python already making robots on weekends in his spare time. He will be hiring and firing that brain-damaged 300 pound lineman in 10 years. They've got their priorities straight.

But yes, it is a different time that's for sure. Both in the recruiting and concentration of talent aspect, and the parents not pressing their kids to go in there and fight no matter how many concussions they have.

That brain is more important than that pride. I see this reshuffling of priorities as good.

If it were badminton (or some other non-contact sport, or math club, or chess team), and one team were just way way better, then of course it would be really stupid.

Obviously you want your kids to be fighters, to be competitive, etc.. If I thought this was simply indicative of the wussification of kids, helicopter parenting, etc.. That would suck. And maybe this is playing a role. But we are talking basically about brain injury, so F it, if there was a good time to step in and err on the side of caution, that would be it. But if it is Amesbury High School versus Exeter Academy chess club, go ahead Amesbury give 'em hell and try to win even if you get plastered every year.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

You can frame it as a bunch of kids being ****ies, or as a private school recruiting from an N mile radius these 6'5" 300 pound monsters, versus these little schools with 14 year old 175 pound freshman who are going to have no chance and going to end up injured, and who would be the first to admit they really don't give much of a **** about the game, they just do it for fun and aren't all that competitive.

I can't speak for the first two, but the team cited in this article actually has injuries already and has fewer players than the team with NFL-sized linemen. [This sort of scenario (minus the enormous size disparity) is the exact reason why the NFL developed the 46-man game day roster.]

 

[A Defiant Goose]

It's a reflection of how times have changed. Back in "the day", the team forfeiting would have been called out for being a bunch of ****ies. Today, their parents are cheering their decision.

You can apply that throughout a whole lot of U.S. society.

Exactly, and again I can't really say how I'd feel as a parent of a 14 year old high school freshman because, well because I'm not one, but I'd like to think I'd either: A) have no influence in this decision or B) encourage my child to fight and not take a loss laying down. If you get your ass kicked then you get your ass kicked, but you don't accept a loss without trying to even fight back. Bad precedent IMO

 

[A Defiant Goose]

I don't even like the argument of how big the other players are. Are they high schoolers? That's the only qualification to me. One team is going out of its way to recruit better players, that's the reward for the effort they put into recruiting. If you don't want to compete then kick rocks.

Again, I say this at risk of sounding like an internet tough guy but it's just one of my core values

 

[RobertWeathers]

Man I know it's easy for me to say but I'm a competitor. I don't care if my opponent is 8'5 and 578 pounds, he's going to have to show up to beat my ass. And he very well may easily beat my ass but forfeiting? Not in my dictionary. But these are teenage kids and all with parental concern. I can't judge them or their parents

I hear you. Its a tough call. I can kinda sorta relate.

Our 14year year old is a gifted soccer player. Because of her skill level she is playing HS Varsity. She is 5ft 100 lbs soaking wet. The girls she plays with & against are all bigger and like her, very physical. While her skill is on par with the high schoolers (maybe better TBH) every game she gets throttled. Shots to the head, body, legs taken out, etc. Its tough to watch but thankfully shes staying healthy.

Clearly its not the same thing as this story but as parents its our job to do what we think it best. Unfortunately that doesn't necessarily mean we are right.

 

[IllegalContact]

It's a reflection of how times have changed. Back in "the day", the team forfeiting would have been called out for being a bunch of ****ies. Today, their parents are cheering their decision.

You can apply that throughout a whole lot of U.S. society.

yes and no.......there's a reason Xaverian does not play Beaver Country Day .... for several teams to be forfeiting, it makes me think AM is not in the right place.

 

[BobDigital]

This isn't college or the NFL. This is a high school game. As much as i like to compete there is no point sending obviously over matched kids out there in such a physical sport.

It is not about building character. If it were a team with better athletes but the same weight class who were likely to out score them 60-0 no one would care but this is not that. This is the simple fact of physics and if you allow it to play out and someone gets badly hurt or permanently hurt that is something everyone who supported the game has to live with. Not to mention the kid hurt and the the one who injured him. Imagine a kid gets a brain injury if this game happens. How would we argue to his parents that it made sense to play this particular game?

Injuries can happen as any time and we must accept it but you don't tempt fate. The same why you don't have a 140lb boxer fight a 210lb boxer you should not have these kids play each other. The chances of something going very badly sky rocket. Even if you tell the private school kids to take it easy it is possible a few get carried away (they are kids after all). I don't see the point of risking it.

 

[neuronet]

We would all agree there is a line where you would just be a martyr to continue playing based on some principle (e.g., your six year old against a college team). ****, even MMA fighters tap out when all hope is lost! No need to leave with a broken arm like an idiot. I also agree that in the past 50 years that line has shifted in the US so that we are probably more wimpy as a nation.

Like I said, if it were chess or math team, obviously this would not even be on the horizon of appropriate response. In some sports or battles, you never quit, you never tap out: you go and take your licks. When it is brain injury, that is no longer always the right reaction: there is a neurological line you don't want your kid to cross based on some principle of sports manliness. It's up to each person to say where that line is for themselves and their family.

Maybe one exception to my first sentence: Off the Grid.

 

[BobDigital]

I hear you. Its a tough call. I can kinda sorta relate.

Our 14year year old is a gifted soccer player. Because of her skill level she is playing HS Varsity. She is 5ft 100 lbs soaking wet. The girls she plays with & against are all bigger and like her, very physical. While her skill is on par with the high schoolers (maybe better TBH) every game she gets throttled. Shots to the head, body, legs taken out, etc. Its tough to watch but thankfully shes staying healthy.

Clearly its not the same thing as this story but as parents its our job to do what we think it best. Unfortunately that doesn't necessarily mean we are right.

Well that is a tough call and i am sure she gets roughed up some and i don't mean to diminish how hard she works but would you say you would feel the same if it was football and not soccer?

Seems like a tough girl and i am sure you are very proud.

 

[RobertWeathers]

We would all agree there is a line where you would just be a martyr to continue playing based on some principle (e.g., your six year old against a college team). I also agree that in the past 50 years that line has shifted in the US so that we are probably more wimpy as a nation.

Like I said, if it were chess or math team, obviously this would not even be on the horizon of appropriate response. You never quit, you go and take your licks. When it is brain injury, that is no longer always the right reaction: there is a line that can be crossed. It's up to each person to say where that line is for themselves and their family.

I don't know about more wimpy but I think the term is called, 'The Wussification of America'

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

There is a reason many school won't schedule Brockton High, they pull from such a large area their teams are going to be bigger and faster than say a team from Avon.

That aside, the private schools athletics are really not even close to the public schools in terms of recruitment. Some of it, is on the shady side. Kids who live outside the 50 miles miraculously ending up living with the coach etc.

There is a reason why they have weight classes in boxing and wrestling. It's for safety, when I was a youth football coach, I sometimes talked to the other coach about when it was time to put in the smaller kids, after all you don't want a 90 12 year trying to tackle a 150 lb 13 year old.

 

[neuronet]

I hear you. Its a tough call. I can kinda sorta relate.

Our 14year year old is a gifted soccer player. Because of her skill level she is playing HS Varsity. She is 5ft 100 lbs soaking wet. The girls she plays with & against are all bigger and like her, very physical. While her skill is on par with the high schoolers (maybe better TBH) every game she gets throttled. Shots to the head, body, legs taken out, etc. Its tough to watch but thankfully shes staying healthy.

Clearly its not the same thing as this story but as parents its our job to do what we think it best. Unfortunately that doesn't necessarily mean we are right.

Sounds like you've got a scrappy kid Not enough kids are like that these days.

 

[nabwong]

When I was a kid, I was in a crappy soccer team. The other team had national team players at the under 14 level. But we still played. Not because we had guts. But because we loved the game. No one cared we lost. We still kicked a ball, tackled an opponent and scored a goal. And then went out for ice cream. We lost 11-1. That's like 60-3 in football.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Well that is a tough call and i am sure she gets roughed up some and i don't mean to diminish how hard she works but would you say you would feel the same if it was football and not soccer?

I don't know if I can answer that question, honestly. I have all girls so it'll never be a problem

Clearly football is much more violent and players are much more susceptible to serious injury. I'm inclined to say that if my 5-9 170lb son was a linebacker going up against a Marcus Cannon-type on a sweep 15 times a game I'd have him to sit out.

But then you watch movies like "Rudy" and you wonder if you are being too protective.

Certainly with what we now know about concussions that adds a whole different level to the discussion.

I dunna know...

 

[RobertWeathers]

Sounds like you've got a scrappy kid Not enough kids are like that these days.

She is a scrappy, tough kid and a hard worker. Thank god shes not soft.

My middle one has peace signs and One Dimension posters all over her room so there is work to be done with her

 

[Dr Pain]

Exactly, and again I can't really say how I'd feel as a parent of a 14 year old high school freshman because, well because I'm not one, but I'd like to think I'd either: A) have no influence in this decision or B) encourage my child to fight and not take a loss laying down. If you get your ass kicked then you get your ass kicked, but you don't accept a loss without trying to even fight back. Bad precedent IMO

Totally and completely disagree. You are dealing with brain health. My son went to school with a kid who got multiple concussions and it has basically trashed his life. He is now a brain damaged 22 year old because of high school sports glory.

If football is going to survive it will be in this form Sprint football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In sprint football, players must maintain a weight of 172 lb (78 kg) or less and a minimum of 5% body fat to be eligible to play. The end result of these weight restrictions is that, unlike conventional collegiate football which places a premium on body weight and strength, sprint football emphasizes speed and agility.