This is what we're becoming?

Skids · Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 6:59 pm

Political correctness, medals for coming last and now this!?

Pathetic Evil or Very Mad

Albany junior footy coach Russ Clark vows to quit after his side is penalised for winning by too much

A junior football coach in Albany says kids are being held back by political correctness and has vowed to step down after his side was penalised for winning games by too much.

On July 22, two results in the Southern Districts Junior Football Association under-13s and under-15s competitions were decided by 95 and 73 points respectively

Clark said a sporting culture of rewarding kids who didn't try and penalising successful kids was holding them back.

�If you�re in a 100m race now, you can walk it and you still get a trophy at the end of it because you didn�t try,� he said.

https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/albany-junior-footy-coach-russ-clark-vows-to-quit-after-his-side-is-penalised-for-winning-by-too-much-ng-b88558448z

regan is true fullback · Joined: 27 Dec 2002 Location: Granville. nsw

we have a coach who is praised because he loses by too little...

courtza · Joined: 26 May 2013

You wouldn't want kids getting hurt feelings.

We could call it the socialist football league.

think positive · Side By Side Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: somewhere

think positive · Side By Side Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: somewhere

That is ridiculous, read the whole thing. Your not allowed to win by more than 60, so why not make the margin 60? No need to call it a forfeit. But that rule is dumb anyway. The junior netball I used to coach had no such silly rules. Up to 9 and under the kids did get a season participation medal, but every game was scored, there was no ladder and they just didn't play finals. After that, it's as adults, just separated by grades. I would have thought footy was the same.

The only comment he makes I didn't like

"Clark said a sporting culture of rewarding kids who didn't try and penalising successful kids was holding them back"

That's a little judgmental. Who said they ain't trying? Maybe they just don't have the talent in that particular sport. But that's splitting hairs I know!

stui magpie · Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 8:10 pm

I liked this quote

Pies4shaw · pies4shaw Joined: 08 Oct 2007

And then abusing them roundly when they don't measure up.

think positive · Side By Side Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: somewhere

stui magpie · Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 8:50 pm

^

Most of my sons junior coaches were pretty good, they usually had shit teams but they focused on getting the best out of the poor players and let the good ones go.

I remember 1 kid who was short and quite overweight. had to wear skins under his shorts so the thighs didn't chafe when he waddled.

Couldn't run, but learned how to use his body after the coach started playing him as a stay at home full forward. Had nice hands and a straight kick, so the coach played to his strengths, encouraged him, and the kid did good.

Play to their strengths, give each kid a role that's within their ability to achieve and it doesn't matter if they aren't superstars, they've been able to play their role in the team and can be praised for that even if they get belted.

HAL · Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 8:52 pm

Yes I always have to wear skins under his shorts so the thighs didn't chafe when he waddled.

swoop42 · Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 9:22 pm

The thing is in some country leagues you'll have sides who are always the dominant club because of a distinct population advantage and no matter how hard the kids of minnow clubs try they'll never suffer anything other than thrashings and it can't be all that much fun for them.

This happens at senior level to and if you live in a country area you'll sometimes catch an around the leagues program during an ad break and some of the margins are truly astounding and can reach 150 to 200 points.

think positive · Side By Side Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: somewhere

David · I dare you to try Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. When I was a kid I used to play tennis against my older brother and got smashed every time because he was two years older than me. This went on for years until around the time when I was 15 and he was 17 and I finally beat him � it was pretty satisfying. But I would have been gutted if I thought that he'd thrown the game or just decided to let me win for a change; or, for that matter, if he'd been handing me the odd point in earlier games.

Kids need to be taught two things when playing sport: good sportsmanship and how to accept losing. What they don't need is to rein in their healthy competitiveness. I mean, we're not even talking about 10-year-olds here, but 14, 15, 16? A loss of more than ten goals is supposed to break them? Jesus. It's not political correctness, but it sure is bizarre.

(Also, god, if they have to have such a dumb rule, blow the whistle and end the game when a team gets ten goals in front. Call it a mercy rule. But don't make kids tank for the last quarter so they don't have to forfeit; that's just perverse.)

pietillidie · Joined: 07 Jan 2005

I demand a parliamentary inquiry into the insidious effects of mercy rules in junior and rural sports leagues. This is exactly the sort of soft-headedness which crept into chess leagues just prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union!

ronrat · Joined: 22 May 2006 Location: Thailand

Whata teenager to do. Not go for marks etc. 3 years later he will be pinged by the AFL id he makes it but doesn't try. Imagine if the likes of Ricky Ponting had of retired at 30 until he turned 18 and never learned how to buils an innings. Or Grant Hackett stopped swimming after 300 metres because he was too far in front. Leave that stuff for the under 10s.