Violence in High School Sports

[H2O Man]

Hello, DU Sports Fans!

I have a topic that I’ve been thinking about recently, and after last night, I thought that I’d ask for other people’s opinions.

My daughter plays "junior varsity" (or "JV") basketball. It’s not her favorite sport – she loves soccer and track – but she enjoys it. The girls on her team are all friends, and they tend to get along well with the girls on other teams in the area. Some are friends from summer sports camps, etc; others are related, especially to kids in the "next town over."

Last year, in a near-by town, in a soccer game, a couple kids from the other team targeted one of my daughter’s best friends, and injured her. While she was on the ground, obviously hurt, some of the kids from the other team were giving each other "high-fives."

Later that same game, a spectator from the other team – who looked like everyone’s grandmother – yelled out, "Kill her!" Odd, that. I attributed it to her being an exceptionally stupid person. But I wonder.

Earlier this season, at a regional high school wrestling meet, two athletes got into a pushing match in the gym. The officials stopped them. Soon, however, the gym started emptying out. Wrestlers, other students, parents, and the coaches went to the parking lot, and were involved in a large brawl, that required a lot of police to stop. Arrests were made, students kicked off at least one team, and some parents were restricted from attending any more sporting events this school year.

Two weeks ago, my daughter’s basketball team played the team from the community where the wrestling brawl took place. During the game, their fans became ugly. One was kicked out of the game.

Last week, when the girls’ varsity team was playing, a struggle began on the court. In my opinion, this was the result of the referees losing control of the game over a period of time. It resulted in one girl’s head hitting the floor hard, and she was eventually taken away in an ambulance.

Last night, in the JV game, two girls from the other team got technical fouls called for unnecessary roughness. Then one was kicked out of the game.

In the varsity game that followed, the girls from both teams were playing a physical game. When one ref called a foul, the other coach freaked. He threw his water bottle at the ref (techical!0, then threw his clip board at the stands (2nd technical!).

What the heck is going on? I know parents (and coaches) are often thinking in terms of scholarships for after high school. Sometimes, I think high school sports today are pretty close to where college sports were, when I was young. But there is something more going on here. I think it is a fair measure of the decay of self-control in our society, almost like "road rage," but inside of a gym rather than the high way.

What do you think

[annabanana]

1. I know you are a big sports fan.

I enjoy watching the occasional game, and I think that team sports have some use in "consensus building skills" for kids . . but I think that the sheer raw emotion that many have started investing in their kids games to be unhealthy.

It's gotten to the point where we have to ask.. "Is this still about the game?".

[Mopar151]

2. Parents behaving badly

Nothing new, but the degree of nastiness has definitely ratcheted up.....

[Captain Hilts]

3. A lot of people take these things FAR too seriously and act out aggression through...

their kids. But you know all that.

The important things, to me, of what you said, are:

1) that your daughter's school/teams aren't resorting to that crap. They prize sportsmanship.
2) your daughter has great, supportive friends in her team mates and coaches. That's really important.
3) the water bottle throwing coach needs to miss a few games. Talk to your daughter's coach about having them suspended for a few games.

[hfojvt]

4. I don't think it is all that new

I thought there was some fighting going on between rival schools way back when I was in high school. I cannot remember anything as out of hand as what you mention, but it sorta wouldn't surprise me as a rare happening.

One time I was walking to band practice before the football game and I happened to cross the path of the football team of our chief rival. They started making growling noises at me, but I was not worried. After all, I had their school song memorized as it was "On Wisconsin", my dad's alma mater. There also was a former classmate of mine going to their school.

Our bands got together once a year too, alternating as hosts. That was the only school we did that with, although we had other rivals in the ESD conference. Our towns were all over 50 miles apart, so we didn't have much contact outside of games. Ironically, at one of those band festivals I almost got into a fight with a member of our own trombone section. He pinched me in the chest and I put a left jab into his ribcage. He made a big show of hitting me back, and so we came kinda close to exchanging blows. I let it go though, since I really didn't feel his counterpunch.

I think that violence is kinda common with youth. As far as coaches, there is a push to win, win, win, and some angry, screaming coaches have had much success, perhaps encouraging emulation.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. That's What I Was Going To Say

I played high school sports in the early 70's. I don't see too much in H2O Man's story that i haven't seen myself more than 35 years ago.

Not that it's good! But, it just seems that the "spirit" that high school sports stimulate sometimes turns ugly.
GAC

[Renew Deal]

5. I officiate football

My experiences so far have been pretty positive. This sounds like one hell of a lack of security. It also sounds like the officials aren't taking these situations seriously enough. The kids high fiving in the soccer game should have been red carded, but that takes balls. Throwing anything at an official is an automatic ejection in any sport. How the hell did they decide that it was just a technical foul?

It's time for the governing bodies (schools and officials) to clamp down on these games.

I had a situation this year where an administrator from Team A said parents from team B said something like "kill him." I thought I may have heard it too, but I wasn't sure. Either way, we asked the other coach to clamp down on his fans. All was peaceful after that.

Things happen at these games for many reasons. But the governing bodies should be prepared by providing more security, and more informed officials. They should also make it clear to the parents and fans what's acceptable. And if that means playing games in empty arenas for a while, so be it.

[a la izquierda]

6. If this was a couple of years ago...

I'd have sworn the old lady was my grandma. My poor cousin used to get the crap beat out of her on the court...by her own teammates, egged on by their effed-up parents. It's about the money, mostly. My cousin was going to get money to play in college and most of her teammates weren't.

[PVnRT]

7. If I were an official and those events happened...

...either the more offending team's fans would earn their team a forfeit, or I would cancel the game and report it as a 0-0 tie. No tolerance for that shit on my end, which is probably why I should never bother becoming a high school ref/umpire/etc.

[Renew Deal]

9. There are ways for you to deal with these incidents within the rules.

Just apply the rules and you'll be fine. In the cases above if things happened as H20man said, there were missed opportunities by the officials. I don't understand how throwing something at an official only earns a "technical foul." An taunting after an act of violence is something that can disqualify a player.

I officiate football and I love it. It's rewarding and fun. You should try it if you can.