WA private HS school team has 3 forfeit wins this season

[A Defiant Goose]

Put in a 225 pound limit and the game would be incredible. The speed would be everywhere.

But then we wouldn't have gems like Dan Connolly nearly running a kickoff for a TD

 

[yukon cornelius]

if you can create a better team under the same rules as everyone else, cool


but private schools like this that can recruit, they belong in their own league



we have a school up here that plays in class C......schools with populations of boys in the 100-200 range on the average

they have multiple international recruits on their roster


at least in basketball you're just going to lose, and not get seriously hurt

 

[IllegalContact]

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.

my youngest is in his 4th year of varsity soccer......as a freshman he was 5'2" season ended with a separated shoulder....a little bigger as a sophomore his season ended with a concussion.....he's 6'3" now and paying it forward

size matters.......and if my biggest kid is 210-220, I'm not playing a team of 300lb-ers

 

[bbobbo]

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

you sound like bill belichick talking about yearbook and myface.

 

[bbobbo]

I am torn between the issues. I really understand the fear of injury aspect, and I fully fear the "woosification" aspect as well.

I also found it ironic that the coach who forfeited complained about having "only" 220lb sophomores to play with. Back when I coached, I would have been thrilled to two 220 lb seniors on my team (and we had to play Brockton, Newton, etc). In fact some of my proudest moments as coach came when watching my team play on an relatively similar unequal playing field. We may have lost the game (barely), but I always felt that the lessons learned that day led to other victories down the road.

In the end the problem lies with the adults and the kids are the ones being penalized. For the most part, (at least when I coached) larger schools played larger schools, and smaller ones played smaller ones. Occasionally it wasn't always that way, but they were anomalies, that you could deal with. Clearly that's not what's happening in this case. This is different and should have been dealt with well before this season.

I don't blame the parents for their fears, and I can't say I would have been against their decision to forfeit. Like I said I'm torn.

BTW- I would LOVE to see an NFL with a 300lb weight limit.

it was actually the kids who said they weren't going to play. the administration was going to make them honor their schedule:

Athletic Director Joey Johnson, at first, said the decision had already been made, and the school leaders had no plans to forfeit this year's game to Archbishop Murphy.

"We made the decision to honor the commitment that we had made as a member of the Cascade Conference that we would play the game instead of forfeiting the game," said Granite Falls Athletic Director Joey Johnson.

In the end, it was the players themselves who had the final say.

They came forward in the middle of Tuesday's meeting and announced they'd decided as a team that they would not play Archbishop Murphy on Friday.

Parents in the crowd applauded their decision. One of the players explained that they chose to forfeit not because they are afraid to play Archbishop Murphy, but because the Granite Falls team is already dealing with some injuries. He said they'd rather have the chance to finish out their entire season than risk someone getting seriously hurt while playing the Archbishop team that has a bigger roster and much bigger players

EDIT: rereading your post, i think you meant it was the AD's fault for scheduling the game in the first place (what borg wrote below), which i agree with.

 

[borg]

It's 2016...not back in the glory days of your high school career decades ago .......Al Bundy.
Safety is everything now ...in the pros, in college, in high school.
Blame the athletic director for positioning his team to be over matched.

 

[Deus Irae]

It's 2016...not back in the glory days of your high school career decades ago .......Al Bundy.
Safety is everything now ...in the pros, in college, in high school.
Blame the athletic director for positioning his team to be over matched.

Do you not know how conference sports work?

 

[upstater1]

Too many kids these days come home from school, hit up the X box for hours while eating a diet consisting of easy mac, Cheetos, and soda.

Those kids weigh much more than 115.

 

[A Defiant Goose]

I bet those fat video gaming kids wouldn'tbe afraid to play pro gamers. Now there's a courageous demographic we could learn a thing or two from!

 

[upstater1]

One of the craziest things I've heard on this thread: if you worry about injuries, don't play the sport.

We have NFL guys who worry about injuries, people who have been playing their whole lives. These guys retire for fear of injuries. But now 14 year-olds are going to be criticized for signing up for football and having the same fears as NFL guys? Please. I'm sure these kids will find something else to do, but the fact is, this school couldn't field a team because of fear of injuries. That doesn't seem like a philosophical conundrum to me. They didn't sign up for that. And now they are making their own decisions, just like NFL guys do. If the coach wants, he can cut them.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I think that was a compliment lol

Oh. LOL

 

[RobertWeathers]

In other words, people/children can be very mentally tough even though they are pacifists at heart. Don't confuse the two.

Ah.

Yes-I agree.

 

[Deus Irae]

One of the craziest things I've heard on this thread: if you worry about injuries, don't play the sport.

We have NFL guys who worry about injuries, people who have been playing their whole lives. These guys retire for fear of injuries. But now 14 year-olds are going to be criticized for signing up for football and having the same fears as NFL guys? Please. I'm sure these kids will find something else to do, but the fact is, this school couldn't field a team because of fear of injuries. That doesn't seem like a philosophical conundrum to me. They didn't sign up for that. And now they are making their own decisions, just like NFL guys do. If the coach wants, he can cut them.

So you point out that even guys who are making millions of dollars will quit playing the sport over injury concerns, yet you first say it's crazy to state that people worried about injuries shouldn't play the sport?

Have you been drinking?

 

[RobertWeathers]

my youngest is in his 4th year of varsity soccer......as a freshman he was 5'2" season ended with a separated shoulder....a little bigger as a sophomore his season ended with a concussion.....he's 6'3" now and paying it forward

size matters.......and if my biggest kid is 210-220, I'm not playing a team of 300lb-ers

6-3 is a good size dude for soccer.

Yea she has about 9 games left. I have this feeling of dread she'll get hurt. With that said she seeks the contact out which might be the only way she doesn't get killed.

 

[upstater1]

So you point out that even guys who are making millions of dollars will quit playing the sport over injury concerns, yet you first say it's crazy to state that people worried about injuries shouldn't play the sport?

Have you been drinking?

You never understand nuance on this board. EVER. It's your MO.

Fear of injury leads people to quit--but it occurs to them after 20 years of playing.

I already wrote that.

These kids are in the middle of a process. They are 14--quoting the article. They will probably decide to give it up, because a kid who is 14 and 115 pounds and is somehow on the varsity football team, and apparently sees playing time, is going to decide soon that it isn't for him. The idea that he should play against behemoths that present a high risk of injury for him -- when we don't even say NFLers who are "tapping out" should play -- well, it is beyond logic.

Kids join teams without envisioning playing 300 pounds as freshman. And when it happens, they beg out--which is what happened here.

I am sure that if the coach had any alternatives--and clearly a guy who plays 115 pound 14 year olds doesn't--he would have taken them. But he doesn't, so this is what happens.

 

[RobertWeathers]

you sound like bill belichick talking about yearbook and myface.

ONE DIRECTION!! Gawd I'm losing it..

I should know...I sat thru the freaking rain last fall when they came to Gillette.

 

[BradyFTW!]

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.

Totally agreed. There's a reason why wrestling and MMA and boxing have weight classes. It's because in a combat sport, you're not going to compete with someone who's 1.5 times your total weight. It doesn't matter how rugged or scrappy or determined you are: If you're a 200 pound 16 year old, going up against a 330 pound 18 year old will not end well for you. And if the certainty of defeat was the only issue here -- ie if this was basketball or baseball -- I'd agree that there's a certain lesson to be learned in going out, playing anyway, and taking your ass-kicking like a dutiful adult.

But this is football, which means there's way more to it. Football is a dangerous sport at the best of times, and far moreso when you're this physically outclassed. It's not about protecting egos or feelings - it's entirely about the likelihood of severe injuries to a bunch of 16 year old kids who will probably play their last football game within two years either way. People who want to act like they're just being a bunch of wusses and coddling kids probably need to inform themselves a little more on the effects of head trauma on kids at that age. It's pretty grim, and can only get worse in a situation like this.

If someone comes up to you and says "hey, I'm going to take thirty or forty whacks at your kid with a baseball bat. Don't be a ****y about it, it'll build his character or something", you'd be right to tell them to get lost.

 

[BobDigital]

If you're worrying about injuries, you've got no business playing the sport. Any game, not just a specific game.

Some people pick out sports specifically cause they are safer and less likely to cause injuries though. I think that makes perfect sense if that enters there line of thinking and if they decide a safer activity makes more sense for them i would not disagree. They know either way they take risk but making it smaller is absolutely their prerogative.

And?

If you're worried about injuries in football, don't play football.
If you're worried about injuries in chess, don't play chess.

But, in either of the above, once you've decided to play, don't cry and whine about an individual game that's fairly in your league.

Injuries are inherent in any sport and i addressed this a bit in my post. However risk comes in levels and just cause we accept risk at one level doesn't mean we need to accept risk at every level.

Lets say this game ups the risk 1,000% or 10,000% of someone getting seriously hurt in a life long debilitating way or dying. Yes there was always the risk that could happen even at a normal high school football game. However does that risk mean it is acceptable to take this statistical significantly bigger risk?

If these kids were adults they could do anything they want but they are not for the most part. It is up to us as the adults to decide what is best for them at times. This is a spot I would step in. I would say "I know you like to play and you are willing to take the risk but i am not willing to let you cause you don't fully understand the risk you are taking so we won't be playing". Even if the kid is 18 If i run the school i can't control what they do on their own time but if i was running the school I would cancel the game and let them play next week which has a much lower risk to cause a big injury. If they want to try to organize a game with the kids they were going to play by all means they are free to try but i would have no part helping them accomplish what i think is a bad decision.

 

[Deus Irae]

You never understand nuance on this board. EVER. It's your MO.

I'm 100% certain that I understand nuance at least as well as you ever will. It's not my fault that you not only made a stupid argument, but also undercut it with your own words. Whether the fear of injury outweighing your desire to play happens when you're 7, or 27, is irrelevant. That it happened is all that matters.

And, for the record, I suffered more injuries, by a huge number, in pickup basketball than in all other sports combined, including football, hockey, boxing and wrestling.

 

[Deus Irae]

Some people pick out sports specifically cause they are safer and less likely to cause injuries though. I think that makes perfect sense if that enters there line of thinking and if they decide a safer activity makes more sense for them i would not disagree. They know either way they take risk but making it smaller is absolutely their prerogative.



Injuries are inherent in any sport and i addressed this a bit in my post. However rick comes in levels and just cause we accept risk at one level doesn't mean we need to accept risk at every level.

Lets say this game ups the risk 1,000% or 10,000% of someone getting seriously hurt in a life long debilitating way or dying. Yes there was always the risk that could happen even at a normal high school football game. However does that risk mean it is acceptable to take this statistical significantly bigger risk?

If these kids were adults they could do anything they want but they are not for the most part. It is up to us as the adults to decide what is best for them at times. This is a spot I would step in. I would say "I know you like to play and you are willing to take the risk but i am not willing to let you cause you don't fully understand the risk you are taking so we won't be playing". Even if the kid is 18 If i run the school i can't control what they do on their own time but if i was running the school I would cancel the game and let them play next week which has a much lower risk to cause a big injury. If they want to try to organize a game with the kids they were going to play by all means they are free to try but i would have no part helping them accomplish what i think is a bad decision.

This isn't elementary school v. NFL here. This is conference play on the same general level. If there's a team that doesn't belong in the conference (too big, too small, too large/small talent pool), get them out of the conference. But, if they're in the conference, you play them.