29-1… That was the halftime score of my son’s basketball on Saturday. I guess I shouldn’t be complaining; we could be on the other end of that score. We’ve definitely been through some losses over the years, so I should just shut up and enjoy the winning. I am enjoying the winning, no doubt, but… I still have to have something to complain about, don’t I?
The rule is, if we beat a team by more than 30 points, the coach gets suspended; is that crazy or is it just me? I think I may have beaten this horse a few times, but it’s still kicking. I’m all for not embarrassing the other team; rubbing it in ain’t cool. But, but… you still have to play the game. Up 28 points at the half, my son’s team had to pass the ball around and not shoot it. On defense, they had to try to allow the other team to score, so then we could score again. What are we teaching the kids again here? Thankfully, the other team was able to score w/no defense being played; that was good. It gave us a little more runway to shoot the ball ourselves. My son dropped in 3 treys for 9 points; he had 13 in the previous game, after having 0 in the season opener. They sit at 3-0, and none of them have been close. Waiting for some competition…
In the meantime, I try to talk to my son about continuing to work on his game. We had this long drawn out discussion about hustle… After he told me another kid on the team hustles more than him, I kind of lost it. I didn’t yell at him, but I told him that is flat out unacceptable. If somebody hustles as much as you, fine, but nobody, and I mean nobody, should hustle MORE than you. This is the one thing you can control, regardless of your skill level. You can bust your ass out there, and you should. Is this blowout rule hampering that? Do the kids want to take it easy so that they can play longer? You see what this is teaching the kids? I told him no; you bring your A game at all times. Do NOT play down to the level of competition. If you’re going to blow them out, so be it; don’t play not as hard… don’t slow down. That motor should be going full force when you’re on the court; you do want to play basketball right? OK, with his skill, adding non-stop hustle… the only thing that will be remaining for my son to be a total animal out there would be his height; we’re all patiently waiting for that… I’ve also told him to work on his right hand; bring the ball up with your right hand. I don’t want him to get complacent, although with this level of competition, it’s like fighting an uphill battle.
But this is what I do. Whether it was being unable to win a baseball game all year, and trying to keep him motivated, or watching them blowout teams each and every week on the basketball court… I’m going to try to keep him motivated. I like when he comes out of practice mumbling, pissed off, upset… good! I told him before the season, those practices may be your best competition all year long; sad, but true. And if that’s the case, then bust your ass in practice… get better. Talked to the coach about getting in a tourney… that would definitely bring some comp. How good are these kids? I want to find out. Next blowout… next Saturday.
rocky
Here’s a thought, take away the ’30 point rule’ and replace it with a ‘slaughter rule’!! Just like in most levels of kids baseball/softball, if a team is up by ‘x’ runs, the game is over. The winner has played their game, and they shouldn’t be forced to ‘lay down’. Make that magic number whatever is agreed upon, and go from there!!!
Just sayin’
JEFFK
That would work, although could be some pretty short games… Anything but the way it’s setup today!