After my 8th grade team beat a team pretty badly last night (56-13), I was surrounded by 3 opposing team parents and accused of having no integrity and no character.

 

I should have just walked away. The first words out of the lady's mouth that was the first to get to me was that I had no integrity. I should have just kept quiet and left, knowing I was going to get into a conversation that I had no chance in. But I didn't. Excuse me? was my reaction. Look at the score board she said. "Yes ma'am" I said..."and do you realize it could have easily been 80 to 2 or more had we NOT took it easy". She didn't want to hear that. A dad comes by and gets in the conversation. "You have no integrity" he said. He accused us of pressing the whole game. Once again...excuse me? "Sir" I said..."not only did we not press the whole game, we didn't press for ONE SECOND of the game". I could tell during warm ups the team wasn't very good, so I made the decision before tipoff to not press. He looked at me with a blank stare for a few seconds, muttered something about defense, and a third person, another mother came up and got involved in the conversation. Again I was accused of running the score up, when I instructed my kids to do everything they could (short of just quitting) to keep the score down. No run outs in the 2nd half, set up in the half court, run the offense, at least two passes and I want some sets run where we swing the ball from one corner to the other BEFORE anyone looks for a shot. The last couple of minutes we even kicked the ball out of the lane where we had wide open layups and kids took long jumpers instead.

 

I asked the first lady what does she think we should have done. Not shoot the ball was here response. So, it was 36 to 6 at half time. Were we supposed to what...stand at half court and dribble for 2 quarters and play keep away? We actually scored 16 points less in the 2nd half BECAUSE we were trying to keep the score down. We played almost no defense in the 4th quarter and LET them shoot the ball. We could have literally held the team scoreless, had we WANTED to. And that is not an indication of how good we are...but rather just how weak and unskilled the other team was. To be honest, after the game started and I realized just how bad they were, I really didn't want to be there because those games are never fun for a coach. But again, because I had three parents in front of me that had no clue about anything, they would never realize these type of games many times are almost as bad on the winning coach as it is on the losing coach.

 

So, the conversation continued. I stated we many a time through the years have been on the losing end of games just like this. An 80 to 8 beat down of my 7th graders in their first game of the year this year against an AAU team in a Louisville tournament comes to mind. Unfortunately it didn't come to mind last night. I used the example of my varsity team getting beat 118 to 46 in a tournament last season. The man who was in the conversation, after I said that, said "Good". What?! Talk about passive aggressive. One of the ladies then asked what did I tell my team after we got beaten that bad. I told her, exact words..."boys, we got to pull our shorts up and get better". Man, she really didn't like that. Of course it NEVER crossed my mind to go to the other coach and blame him for us losing like that. They were good, and in comparison we were bad. In her world though I guess that's how it works.

 

So, after about 4-5 minutes of this conversation and getting no where, I was starting to get a little angry and heated. I had to separate myself from the situation. I finally told them I had to leave, that I was talking to 3 people who obviously didn't know anything about basketball and had never coached. I grabbed my stuff and my asst. coach players and I walked out.

 

Did I also mention one of the ladies who was involved in the conversation was also personally berating at least one of my kids during the game? I didn't find that out till after all of this. And that this same lady also came out of the stands last year screaming at me after the game for shouting at my kids during the game while coaching. Talk about integrity and character.:idunno:

 

So, it goes without saying that I was pretty heated and frustrated last night on the trip home and still am, though not quite as much. I mean it really stings to have your integrity and character slammed, but I just have to keep reminding myself it was done so by three perfect strangers based on the score of a basketball game.

 

Had to vent.

So why did you run up the score?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got you didn't I? :lol:

Yep, should have walked away, but it is really easier said than done. Keep those guys improving.

I have seen this happen to Raceland and done by Raceland. There are always going to be those parents that think "why isn't my baby in" or "Why are they taking Jimmy out". They obviously don't know much about sports and they always make me mad. In some cases, it may be appropriate, but a case like this, its absurd.

People are crazy.

Parents! They have ruined sports! Over all the years I have coached basketball the kids hardly changed, but in the last 7 years or so the parents have become ridiculous!

 

I would have talked to them for a second. Then of they continued would have told them they have no clue about the sport as I'm walking away.

Run it up, BigV!!

I can certainly understand a parent taking interest in their own child's activities, but it never ceases to amaze me when parents act about as immature as a child might.

 

Age doesn't always bring wisdom, and some people never grow up their entire lives.

 

I've never been a parent, so there are life's lessons that I've never learned.

 

There are some who are parents who have never learned life's lessons from being as such.

 

And when a parent reacts stupidly to situations, they're only passing down to their own children the stupid way to react to situations. Perpetual immaturity.

Parents! They have ruined sports! Over all the years I have coached basketball the kids hardly changed, but in the last 7 years or so the parents have become ridiculous!

 

I would have talked to them for a second. Then of they continued would have told them they have no clue about the sport as I'm walking away.

 

Yep, I should have just loaded up and said noting, especially after the first words out of her mouth were accusing me of having no integrity. That should have ended any conversation right there.

Where was the spineless, no-accouint, loser-of-a-coach for the other team? If my team got pasted (and of course that has happened), I would encourage the parents to talk to me about it, not the other coach.

The lack of decorum, these days, has coincided with the advent of "reality" TV that depicts yelling, screaming, and throwing insults at each other. (eg. Housewives of Whatever)

 

People seem to think this is proper public behavior, now.

I would beat them as bad as I could next game and press the whole game.

Where was the spineless, no-accouint, loser-of-a-coach for the other team? If my team got pasted (and of course that has happened), I would encourage the parents to talk to me about it, not the other coach.

 

That's probably not fair... He may not have known this was going on.

 

If he did, I agree with you.

They clearly don't know you BigV, you are one that I know has a ton of integrity. People can be idiots, just move on and good luck in your next game.

I would beat them as bad as I could next game and press the whole game.

 

I don't know if I agree with this statement. Part of "integrity" is acting, speaking, and performing in a consistent manner no matter what the circumstances. BigV handled it very well the first time. I would not change a thing. Besides, the kids of the other team don't need a "beat down" as a payment because their parents acted like idiots.