Greed Kills
Permanent Link| | Reno, NV, High School Varsity Soccer just last week: A coach with potentially the best team in my sons’ team’s league is ahead 9-0 late in the second half against the weakest team in the division. The coach tells his team that he wants to get into double digits and puts his best keeper back in the game, along with his two best forwards. The keeper and one of the forwards get frustrated when they cannot pick up their 10th goal and throw some elbows during a tight play by their own goal. The ref gives them each a red card, knocking them out of this game AND THE NEXT game, which is against my son's team (probably the second strongest team in the division). My sons’ team wins 2-0, significantly hurting the other team’s chances to move on in the post-season tournament. Was trying to get that 10th goal (instead of a 9-goal win) worth the risk of injury or red cards and hurting their chances in subsequent games? I am still scratching my head over this one. -- PCA Champion Dan Dugan, United Futbol Academy |
Last edited by David Jacobson at 9/26/2008 4:29:44 PM
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Chargers Loss Due to Reaction, Not to Referee's Call
Permanent Link| | Despite the uproar about NFL referee Ed Hochuli's call that let the Broncos keep the ball on their game-winning drive last Sunday, that call is not what lost the game for the Chargers. Instead their fate was sealed by the immediate reaction of Head Coach Norv Turner and his failure to rally the troops afterwards. Turner's blaming the officials spilled over into his athletes' mentality, and they used it as a crutch. That was evident in their porous defense for the remainder of the drive, allowing three successful plays in a row, resulting in a touchdown and a risky 2-point conversion (which put the Broncos ahead by 1 point). Perhaps the Broncos sensed the Chargers' lack of focus and chose to go for the win, instead of merely forcing overtime with an extra point. Because nobody took charge at that crucial moment, the Chargers players took the easy way out and used their scapegoat to explain their loss. As a coach, when your team faces such an obstacle, you will face a similar choice. Will you blame things that you cannot control -- which teaches players to be unaccountable -- or will you challenge them to rise above adversity? Double-Goal Coaches choose the second path and uphold life lessons. Not surprisingly, players who are taught such mental toughness will usually win more games, too. When it's your time to make this decision, what will you say to your players? -- Charlie Williamson, PCA Lead Trainer, Chicago |
Last edited by David Jacobson at 9/17/2008 8:43:05 AM
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RIP Don Haskins
Permanent Link| | On the first anniversary of the Basketball Hall of Fame induction of the 1966 Texas Western University team that won the NCAA Championship with a then-revolutionary all-Black starting five, we mourn the passing of the team's coach, Don Haskins. Despite the racial overtones of that Civil Rights-era title game against an all-White University of Kentucky team, Haskins was no social crusader. He was just another coach looking for an edge. However, Haskins is heroic for the vision to see beyond the limits set by the powers-that-were -- in and around the school's athletic "leadership" and in college basketball -- and for the fortitude to keep his team together even as his players faced racial terrorism. At the 2007 Hall of Fame ceremony to cover the induction of PCA National Spokesperson Phil Jackson, who is fond of saying, "Not only is there more to life than basketball, there is more to basketball than basketball," that truth was never more evident. Preceding Jackson down the red carpet a year ago today were the 1966 Texas Western players -- of all skin colors -- courageous individuals who used sport to transcend and transform social ills that hold us back as a people. Haskins could not join them for induction, due to the illness that took his life last weekend, but he was still leading them, and they are still leading us. To let Youth Sports Nation know about other coaches and athletes who have transcended their sports, click on the Comments link below. |
Last edited by David Jacobson at 9/8/2008 3:46:41 PM
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Should 9-Year-Old Jericho Scott Continue to Pitch?
Permanent Link| | The latest now-we've-heard-it-all youth sports controversy revolves around Jericho Scott, a 9-year-old pitcher in the Youth Baseball League of New Haven (CT). According to New Haven Register coverage, league officials are demanding that Scott's team disband because his pitching "is so hard, fast and accurate that it might frighten or discourage other players." Most of the invective here smacks of the usual adult-focused win-at-all-cost machinations that bring these stories to the fore. Share your views with Youth Sports Nation -- including solutions to whether Jericho should continue to pitch -- by clicking on the Comments link below. |
Last edited by David Jacobson at 8/27/2008 7:43:59 AM
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Shawn Johnson and Other Olympic Inspirations
Permanent Link| | U.S. Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson is what PCA calls a Triple-Impact Competitor, one who improves herself, her teammates and her sport as a whole. She clearly accomplished the first feat, winning gold on the beam and silver for the team, all-around and floor. In terms of improving teammates, Johnson movingly comforted Alicia Sacramone after her fall from the balance beam during the team final. “We love her no matter what,” Johnson said of the teammate whose mistakes contributed to the team wearing silver instead of the hoped-for gold. Finally she improves gymnastics as a whole through her competition with teammate Nastia Liukin. Rather than succumbing to bitter rivalry, these close friends honor each other both in and out of the gym, while pushing each other to be their best. Setting such an example for millions of youth athletes certainly will cause Olympic gymnastics aspirants to emulate that example, thus elevating the sport as a whole. Let Youth Sports Nation know who else in these Olympics is inspiring youth athletes, and how, by clicking on the Comments link below. |
Last edited by David Jacobson at 8/21/2008 2:35:05 PM
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