Posted on 01/24/2016 7:02:39 PM PST by Hojczyk
A Minnesota youth basketball team has been ejected from a league for being too good and now the coach, parents and players are crying foul.
The Rogers Area Youth Basketball Association girls high school team was forced to the sidelines by the Northwest Suburban Basketball League -- and itâs all because the team is 3-0, Fox 9 reported Saturday.
âWe found out Friday at lunchtime that weâre not going to be allowed because according to the league our girls were too talented,â coach Jason Hanauska told the station.
RAYBA sent parents a letter that said the main reason for the league's decision was because other teams in the league âdo not want to play RAYBA due to the skill level.â
âThis is absurd,â parent Sherri Palmgren told the station. âDo we take the (NFLâs) Patriots or Cardinals, who are going to the championship game, and kick them to the curb because theyâre too good?â
The league ejected RAYBA just ahead of a showcase tournament this weekend, according to Fox 9.
âAre we supposed to play worse just to make them happy?â team member Tessa McCarthy told the station.
Hanauska is slated to meet with the leagueâs board Monday
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Of course. It’s competition. It’s good for you.
When you lose, you congratulate your opponent and go back to work. Then beat them next time.
Some poor kids who’s parents want to be their “friends” never have a chance to learn this.
Around here we call them “progressives.”
That was my first thought.
Has this team been doing this for many years? Just this year? A 3-0 record sounds innocent enough but if this has been set up that is a different animal. Good sportsmanship does matter. But, learning to lose and learn from it is extremely important.
If this team is annihilating its competitors and, perhaps, not being respectful while doing so, well, no one will want to play them. At that point, a multitude of forfeits may get the message across as well.
I do not know the whole story, but I am willing to bet there are parents on both sides who are playing a different sport.
OK, please tell me none of these players are of the trans variety.
Wow.
Sounds like someone should alert the Division 1 scouts. They’re being ripped off.
Don’t know the details but as a former coach I can see some possible reasons. In travel softball, we had teams considered “A” level and some considered “B” level. This was to enhance the competitive nature of every tournament. When your kid is on a “B” team you recognize that she has a ton of work to do if she is ever to reach an “A” level.
Now occasionally some “A” level coach thinks it’ll be fun to enter a “B” tournament and beat everybody into submission. It’s not enjoyable to watch.
Sometimes a “B” tries to enter an “A” to see where they stand. That is perfectly acceptable and normally results in the kids seeing how far they still need to go.
In any case, not every complaint in these cases is somehow an endorsement of “everyone gets a trophy”. It is frequently well-meaning folks who recognize their kids are not scholarship athletes who still want to set up an enjoyable, intense level of competition for their skill level.
Now if this is considered a “top tier” league and all recruiting rules are being followed, then I would agree this is a poor decision.
I had not thought of the scouting aspect. Mmmmmm
I was not into school sports but do remember the parents at my son’s school would be way too intense even in grade school. My son preferred to skateboard.
“My eight yr old grandson had a basketball game last week and my daughter and I noticed when his team got over a forty point lead the scoreboard quit adding points when they made a basket, but if the other team made one it did.”
In hockey, we stop keeping score at 9 goals. If you are 5 goals down in the third, they run the clock.
If D1 scouts were planning to attend, they would already know which players they want to evaluate. If upon their arrival, the players or their entire team are absent they will want to know why, and it won’t take them long to find out.
These girls have just been given a lesson in progressivism. The successful must be punished.
This is absurd”parent Sherri Palmgren told the station. “Do we take the (NFL’s) Patriots or Cardinals, who are going to the championship game, and kick them to the curb because they’re too good?”
As a Pats fan this comment really stung. :-)
.
Something doesn’t seem right. Normally a “showcase tournament” isn’t based on a league. It is usually an invitational event or an “open” event to teams from various leagues. If your team is good enough, and you pay the entry fee, it doesn’t matter what “league” you play in.
I know a showcase is mentioned in the article, but I wonder if the kids were truly barred from playing in it. My bet is some news media personality with no knowledge of sports included the “just before a showcase” part.
Sad these parents will never allow their kids a chance to know what it feels like to knock out a giant.
I agree tha trophies should be only for the top team or top couple of teams. My oldest child is 37. When he started in Little League, trophies were only for the league champion. By a few years later, everyone got trophies.
Future adult thoughts of the snowflake team members:
“I can’t call on that business, ACME sells to them and everyone knows they are the best”
“I’d love to apply for that job promotion but John Smith is applying and he’s better than me”
“Honey, why can’t you keep up with the Jones’?”
True. And it’s wonderful when that happens. But if you travel 2 hours with your daughter to a “B” level tournament, it is no fun and total BS to get mercied 15-0 by an “A” league team that is using you as a tune up before their showcase.
On many occasions a “B” may try to compete in an “A”. Nothing wrong with that, and just surviving to day two of a three day tournament can be a great experience for the kids.
Nothing better than knocking out a giant, but there’s a time and place for it.
I was wondering the same ... Is this a white privilege thing?
Hey you! Get back here!!
Maybe the other teams should practice more?
And/or get a new coach?
Well, certainly not the Cardinals.
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