Question for Basketball coaches - unsportmanlike?

I was able to attend the Bronte and Blackwell basketball game (had to leave in the first quarter of the boys game), but I have a question for coaches...in the girl's game, if you are up by 30, why keep in your starters and why conduct a full court press? Bronte's girls team did this and I was wondering why? It seems as if you would run the risk of getting someone hurt...never coached basketball so I was just wondering?
 
I am sure Coach Moore had her reasons, they are playing for more things than just 1 game. She is a very classy coach and they do things the right way at Bronte.
 
This is the same discussion we had over
running up the score in a football game.
The topic title had something to do with
showing some class.

There may be extenuating circumstances
for doing it but,
it always looks real bad.
(Especially the press part in this case).

It's a moral issue
every coach has to decide
for themself.
 
Seems like this issue is brought up every year by someone. Especially during basketball season. I know that it doesnt look classy for a team to be pressing when they are up 30. However, no one knows the reasons except for the coach. Maybe it was pay back from earlier in the year, maybe from years past. Possibly a very old ax to grind.

Or could it just be the motives were pure, prepping for a playoff run. Practice prepares you, but games hone the skills taught in practice. Also in my opinion losing by 30 is not the worst thing in the world. There are bball teams in this state that consitently lose games by 30. I think getting drummed every once in a while is good for every team. It shows that as good/bad as you are what you could work on to be that much better.

Seeing better athletes perform at a high level is very beneficial to the younger kids on the team. Maybe they will say "hey, if we do exactly what coach tells us exactly how they tell us we can be better than those guys." It doesnt always work, but that is what you try to instill in ahtletes. Just be cause you got beat doesnt mean you were DEFEATED. Keep working and pay 'em back for it next time.
 
Hmmmm....

OK, just so we're all clear on this;
the whole "payback" concept sounds
just as childish
coming from a so-called adult, (assuming 6pac is an adult, which there's no way to know for sure)
as it is coming from a child
when you ask them why they hit someone.

Grow up.

And, IMO, pressing with a 30 pt.lead
is unnecessary. (low class)
 
Dogface,

I have been reading your comments and all I can say is please spare us from your sanctimonious bull crap. I really am tired of hearing it, I bet you are one of those people that think every kid should get a trophy in little league, or the person that thinks that the playoffs should expand, so that little Johnny and little Jimmy can experience something that they didn't earn. "My team just wasn't good enough to earn the right to get in the playoffs, but we tried real hard."
 
I think dogface misunderstood my Pay'em back statement. I didnt mean do the same thing to them I meant remember the feeling of losing/not winning. If you dont wanna feel that again make sure you are working hard enough to be on the opposite side of the column next time. Not next time they are down kick in the groin, stomp on their ribs, and kick sand in their face.
 
OK 6pac now I get it
and I agree whole-heartedly!
That was a really good post.
I read it several times.

JB,
Hmmmm...
Perhaps you should tell me
what you really think. :lol:

You obviously don't know my philosophy at all!
I was the one who was argueing
with a student,
before I knew he was a student,
that there's no such thing
as a UIL JH district champ.
His claim was that there is because
his coach went out and bought them a trophy?

It's not sanctimonious of me
(interesting choice of words though)
to try to be a coach that plays with Class.
But, I respect your right to be wrong.

(I grew up thinking that playing baseball
in little league was it's own reward
and the little trophies we got were stupid.
I prefered the patches I got in bowling
because I had to bowl a higher score
each time to actually get one.
Still have the patches.
No idea about the little trophies?).

So, now you really know.
 
It has been my experience that what comes around goes around. Coaches do not forget. If they keep the press on the entire game witha 30 point lead, it will come back to haunt them in later years.

My 2 cents worth.
 
Looks like this is the second time that Bronte has had issues with Blackwell. As I recall, it was the boys basketball coach who instigated a campaign against Blackwell changing basketball districts - calling each school in the "new district." Now, girls' coach presses in the 4th with a 30 point lead...doesn't sound like they are doing everything "right" at Bronte.

Just sayin'
 
As gear31 pointed out, there's always a payback.

But there's also a part of me that says that you are preparing your team to succeed in the playoffs. Assuming the winnng team is all that and a bucket of chicken, they need to keep their goal on being sharp for the playoffs.

Pressing may look "too much," but it may be the way this team plays defense. And there's going to be a game or two sometime in February or March where they are going to have to know how to run that press for 32 minutes or find that their season is over.

We had a buckets team once that almost everyone could hang with us for about 26-28 minutes. Problem was, the game was 32 minutes long ... and we'd wear those good opponents down in those last 4-6 minutes. Even went to a couple TAPPS state finals beating teams in the regionals that we had no business beating ...
 
If I'm not mistaken
practice is usually much longer than 32 min.
so
if you run your boys without any breaks for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs
in practice
(like Coach John Wooden did)
then their physical fitness
would be playoff caliber
and there would be no need
to humiliate anyone during a game.

You can tap dance around this all you want.
 
I don't agree with pressing with a big lead........I think a press has it's place during a game. BUT, I do often wonder if a press is the only defense a coach knows because it is all they run..........could just be their lack of knowledge of the game? The only remedy is a press breaker, and I might add, a breaker is gonna get you some quick points and back in the game AND put them back in a zone to get a breather. If a kid can run, pass, and make a layup, then he can run a press breaker. In the words of Mike Leach, "If you don't like my offense, then stop it!" 8) Take that ass whippin and use it for fuel to work harder!
 
Interesting article on sportsmanship (from the perspective of a coach dealing with fans). I like the idea of district/conference/league rules on sportsmanship.

http://www.athleticmanagement.com/2011/ ... /index.php
Weekly Blog: January 31, 2011

Sportsmanship: A League-wide Approach
By Dr. David Hoch, CMAA

Sportsmanship is not a new topic. As long as I've been involved in high school athletics--longer than I'd like to admit--the behavior and actions of athletes, coaches, and fans has been a major concern. This is especially true in basketball, which is a great love of mine after coaching it for 24 years. Due to the close proximity of the fans to the court, and the quickness and action of the play, things can get out of control at some venues. Here are some solutions I've come up.

Many schools have created well thought-out codes of conduct not only for athletes but also for fans. In many cases, these sportsmanship documents are distributed at preseason meetings, posted on the school's Web site, distributed at games, posted in the gym and reviewed with the coaching staff which, in turn, informs the athletes of their responsibilities.

If an incident does occur, the athletic administrator can intercede with the offending spectator or meet with the wayward athlete the following day. Most schools have procedures in place for dealing with sportsmanship problems involving their own community, which would include athletes, coaches, parents, and fans.

However, there are times when problems arise with enforcing those rules with spectators from visiting schools. Those fans are not familiar with the home school's expectations and procedures. When dealing with those situations as an athletic director, I was often told by visitors, "Well, we don't do that at our school," which was the root of many problems.

A solution to this predicament is a league-wide sportsmanship code of conduct in which athletes, coaches, and fans all have the same expectations and responsibilities regardless of where the game is being played. It eliminates the excuse of, "We didn't know," because every school distributes and posts the same universal standards.

This approach is already in place for the Northern Lakes Conference in Indiana and it should serve as a model for others around the country. On page 33 of the September issue of NFHS High School Today, Joe Santa and Larry Kissinger reported on the steps involved in creating this system.

Because of the different sports in an athletic program and the fact that various venues may be unique, a league might have to alter or develop a few additional items for the code to cover the exceptions and special considerations. For basketball, for example, you may want to include:

* Do not disrupt the foul shooter--this is not good sportsmanship. You should cheer for your team and not against your opponent. Unfortunately, TV coverage of college basketball games often show this act and the yelling of "Air ball" on missed shots--both are examples of poor sportsmanship.

* Please do not harass officials for any call that goes against your team. Most schools state that $5 for a ticket does not provide the license to yell at officials or to cause a problem.

* Please refrain from chants such as "It's all over." Anything that may cause humiliation to your opponent is absolutely unacceptable.

Well, you get the idea. There may be a special item or two that can be added for other sports. But by doing this as a league, it provides a common and standardized approach than may help eliminate many of the sportsmanship problems.

Since the winter season is beginning, you probably don't have enough time to implement this approach this season. However, a short-term, quick solution is to send the sportsmanship expectations for your school via e-mail to other athletic administrators in your league.

Ask your colleagues to distribute the written expectations for your school to their coaches, who should then forward the materials to their parents. Many coaches or athletic departments have distribution lists for parents of their various teams. In addition, you can submit a homeroom announcement to inform and remind your student fans of an upcoming opponent's sportsmanship expectations. While there may still be some problems at a game, at least you've taken a concrete, proactive step.

Over the next few months of the season, make notes of things you would like to have covered in your league-wide code of sportsmanship. You might have to take the lead on this issue and get this idea listed on the agenda of your next league meeting so that a committee can be formed.

The league-wide approach to setting and maintaining standards for sportsmanship is the way to go. Individual approaches will continually encounter situations with visiting fans until everyone has, understands, and uses the same standards.

David Hoch, EdD, CMAA, recently retired as Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, Md. He is a frequent contributor to Athletic Management.
 
I am trying to think of a point spread of defeat that didn't hurt mine or my team's feelings...huh...there was that 28 to 29 loss to Water Valley in 2005--result: team tears and I stared at the wall 'till 3 o'clock that night. And there was a two point loss vs. Waelder in the 2006 Regional quarter-finals when we had the last two shots from two feet---team tears and more mental anguish. I also remember a 77 to 80 upset in the Regional semi-finals against Kennard in High School--buckets of tears and some anger expressed by most of us. But I also recall a 38-106 massacre to Roby in 2000 and a 55-109 loss the following year to Bo Simpson's Trent squad--but there were no tears and I realized that we could never have played with teams of their calibar. Embarrased, yes, great and longfelt pain, no.

While in school we always got pretty torn up in football my freshman and sophomore years against New Diana 7-48, Waskom 21-78 and Troup 13-55. So when basketball rolled around we payed 'em back with interest. I remember as if it were yesterday the scores: 111-9 (pressed the entire game); 124-44 (pressed until 3 mins. left) and 114 to fifty-something (pressed the whole game).
All and all I just don't remember carrying any scars or suffering many long periods of thumb-sucking while balled up in a fetal position. Of course that wasn't a "kinder, gentler" time.
 
BE":y3fsao26 said:
All and all I just don't remember carrying any scars or suffering many long periods of thumb-sucking while balled up in a fetal position.

That's a mental image I'd rather not see ...
 
Wasn't there as case last year in dallas were a private school beat another private school by over a hundred points,and the winning coach ended up losing his job. later the coach stated that he had benched his best players and instructed his players to stop scoring,but the other team couldn't stop them" i guess by lack of talent". As far as coaches instructing there starters to press while up by 20-30 points is one thing. But its anthoer were you instruct your players to play like your practice ,and parctice hard and don't let up and don't quit and all of a sudden now your telling your players stop what there doing ,and to cut there effort in half,because you practiced hard like you play and it reflects on the score board.
 
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