Sunday, June 28, 2009
Don't Play To Win
Shame on the Weymouth Babe Ruth and JBL (Junior Basketball League) coaches that promote an exclusionary “We Play To Win” youth sports mentality. When articles appear praising Babe Ruth All-Star teams for District Tournament victories, or travel basketball teams for playoff wins, left out is the fact that there are players in each program that aren’t allowed to participate in the fun because the coaches don’t think they’re good enough.
I am the father of 3 boys who are generally considered to be competent athletes, with the oldest overcoming the politics of youth sports to win the 2008 WHS Male Athlete of the Year award. Through the years, they have all worked hard and respected their coaches. Their efforts have been rewarded at times with selection to various travel basketball and All-Star baseball teams. These could have and should have been healthy experiences that boosted self-esteem and valued the concepts of sacrifice and TEAM. Instead, the “We Play To Win” mentality of these programs has forced me to turn my children’s disillusionment into an unwanted parenting opportunity. The type of opportunity that compels you to sit them down and teach them that life isn’t always fair. That effort, determination, and ability don’t always result in even minimal playing time. That coaches who tell you before the season starts that you’re an important part of the team don’t always mean it, or only mean it when the team has a comfortable lead. That it’s win first, and worry about individual and team morale later. That ego and athletic politics among adults impacts young children who perhaps could have blissfully enjoyed another year or two of believing their coaches were fair-minded men.
One example is the Babe Ruth District Tournaments that are held every year, when the Weymouth All-Stars play against surrounding towns with the goal of advancing to the state tournament. There are no minimum playing time requirements during these games and I think there should be. Through the years, I’ve watched my sons play well enough in the regular season to be honored with All-Star selections and have had similarly frustrating experiences during each of their District Tournaments. Without competition for positions, it was made clear to them, and others, via lack of meaningful playing time that they weren’t considered talented enough to contribute to the team when District victories were at stake. A few years ago, the only time my oldest boy, now 19, and a college athlete, saw the field in the entire tournament was once as a pinch-runner. That insult stayed with him and was one of many reasons he later dropped All-Stars completely to pursue other athletic options. These coaches, clearly determining playing time for reasons unrelated to talent and ability, drove him away from a sport he was gifted in. He became disgusted with the blatant bias shown by the coaches, and, as a result, Babe Ruth All-Stars, and Weymouth High School baseball lost a multi-sport All-Scholastic athlete. No coach has ever sat any of my kids down and explained their coaching philosophy or told them what they needed to work on to impress the coaching staff. They were left to figure it out for themselves. The only explanation I’ve ever heard to back up this approach is- “We Play To Win!” Which the players on the bench interpret as, “You Aren’t Good Enough!”
This is not a sour grapes diatribe by a disgruntled parent that overrates his child’s ability. I appreciate the time and effort the coaches put in and know where my children fall in the athletic pecking order. I’ve coached youth basketball for 10 years and know it can be draining, and that parents can have unrealistic expectations when it comes to their own family. I understand that travel, AAU, and All-Star teams are competitive and that winning makes it easier to keep the attention of a group of teenagers. I also understand that the coaches give more playing time during the regular season following tournament action, but their philosophy towards these tournaments is misguided. Looking at it strictly from a coaching standpoint, I’ve never understood the logic of not making the end of your bench feel confident and valued, allowed to make mistakes without fear of diminished time. Every team I’ve ever coached has needed competitive practices and contributions from the entire roster in order to achieve. Isn’t it in a team’s best long-term interest to support and motivate every player that has sweated with his peers on the field or in the gym? Also, what is wrong with giving kid’s a chance to play different positions? Is requiring a coach to play each child a minimum of, say, 2 innings every other game in the Districts too much to ask?
Usually, a District team has 3 or 4 top athletes that are head and shoulders above their teammates. This is a good thing and the players themselves want these kids to play the majority of innings. But as far as I have ever been able to tell, the remaining kids are all pretty close in talent and should share time. With a 15 man roster, not getting players into a close game is perfectly understandable, a coach doesn’t want to disrupt the rhythm of what is happening on the field. So why not rotate the bench kids into the next game for an inning or two so they can feel a part of things? My sons don’t expect to start and play every inning of every game, far from it. They all appreciate the value of role players displaying team spirit. As first year players in the town league, they made sure to carry the equipment and collect the bases. It’s just depressing for a young kid to realize that his role appears to be that of permanent spectator whenever the coaches perceive the games as being important.
I’ve been happy to see Weymouth lose in this tournament each year when 3 to 5 players are relegated to bench duty, and I’ve talked to many other parents, including parents of the starters, who feel the same way. If the team advances to States, are we supposed to be happy about winning the continued privilege of watching our sons carry water for their fellow All-Stars? Does our frustration over watching a misguided coach play favorites make us Bad Baseball Parents? Winning with this "We Play To Win" approach would be the worst thing that could happen to a team, because then the coaches would be encouraged and think they’re on the right track. I’d much rather see a team lose Districts while playing their bench than win while denying a single player the chance to be involved in something special. Trying to make it up to kids during the regular season isn’t enough. The message has already been sent and kids aren’t stupid, they know when you don’t trust them.
As for the Weymouth JBL and travel basketball programs, too much authority is given to the individual coaches in regards to playing time. Any parent who has driven an hour to an away travel game and watched their child play short minutes knows what I’m talking about. It makes for a long ride home. What is wrong with guaranteeing a travel player a minimum of 4 minutes out of a 32 minute game during the season and 2 minutes during the playoffs, whether other towns do the same or not? The 8th and 9th grade JBL town teams have a minimum rule of 8 minutes per game. Is that really enough time for a player whose parents have paid the same amount of money as everybody else? What about 4th and 5th grade coaches that encourage one or two players to take ALL of the shots in what is supposed to be partly an instructional league? Isn’t involving the entire team the least a coach can do? If a coach makes it fun, is demanding in practice and implements a program that develops teamwork along with individual skills, the wins will follow. Not enough travel or town coaches prepare all of their players for the competitive high school environment in their futures. Instead, they cater to certain talented kids from as early as the 3rd grade at the expense of the late bloomers.
In my opinion, the competitive nature of many adults coaching on both travel and JBL teams has overruled their common sense and the league should step in and force them to comply with minimum standards of sportsmanship and fair-play. JBL coaches trying to do things the right way are initially at a distinct disadvantage when playing against teams that blatantly abuse the playing time rules to favor their more talented athletes. The good coaches will eventually harvest the fruits of their coaching labors, but it’s an uphill climb. What message are the unfair coaches sending to the boys who sit at the end of the bench game after game?
The Weymouth High School baseball and basketball varsity programs are losing athletes to indifference and to other sports in part because of this short-sighted approach to the town youth programs. Kids drift off and find other things to do when they get disrespected, their full potential never realized. Too bad, because I’ve found most are easy to motivate and will reward you with superior play when treated fairly. Leading up to high school sports, there should be minimum playing time requirements for all JBL, travel, Babe Ruth and Little League All-Star teams, especially in the tournaments and playoffs. The Weymouth Junior Basketball League is making strides in this direction.
The WHS youth wrestling philosophy is one others in town could follow. Every wrestler in town from a young age feels appreciated and valued and is made to feel a part of the team, regardless of how much talent they possess or how much mat time they may eventually get for the varsity. All the coaches adhere to the core philosophy of the program, in which all athletes are respected and treated equally. Their baseline requirement of maximum effort, and not what part of town you’re from or who you’re friends with, results in consistent opportunities for advancement. The result has been a strong feeder program for the varsity, loyalty to the coaching staff, and multiple conference championships. Is anybody paying attention?
POSTED BY HAR on June 28, 2009
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Comments
coaches, read up before designating a kid to right field for life
Posted by: b-o | June 29, 2009 10:36 AM