HS coaches to be punished for lopsided victories?

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Should they just stop keeping score and give every kid a trophy at the end of the year? Or is it reasonable to hold a superior team back from running up the score?

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High school football coaches threatened with suspension for blowouts
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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut officials say they've had it with high school football coaches who run up the score.<SCRIPT>if (LinkCount>0){ var linkselement=document.getElementById("links"); if (linkselement!=null) { linkselement.style.visibility="visible"; }} else { var spanElement = document.getElementById("links"); if (spanElement != null) { spanElement.innerHTML = ""; }}</SCRIPT>

The state's Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which oversees school sports, says high school coaches will be suspended if their teams win by more than 50 points.
A spokesman for the conference says "there's no need" for any coach to allow players to stomp on its rivals that way.
While school officials deny aiming at any one person, some are calling it the "Jack Cochran rule" after a coach in New London, Connecticut, who logged four wins with scores of more than 50 points last year.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)

 

[methomps]

Let's see, 7 touchdowns gets you 49-0. You think a team losing by that much would ever consider taking the last snap of the game and running backwards out their own endzone?

51-0.

 

[sandgk]

Good grief! Like the poor kids will believe they were better if they ONLY lost 49-0 (and Cochran's team played possum for the entire 4th quarter).

Those HS coaches who are upset should adopt the Peter Principle and recommend Cochran for the next JC or college coaching opening.

 

[NightmaresDad]

I think we've discussed this in other threads and the concensus seemed to be that it is much more of blow to the self-esteem to have the other team "take it easy on you" than it is to face their best game and play for 60 minutes.
At least that's how it is with me.
Even if I'm way ahead and sending in the 2nd or 3rd stringers - I fully expect them to give 100% on every play, and I sure wouldn't cheat them out of the opportunity to do so, either.

 

[Oh8ch]

Even if I'm way ahead and sending in the 2nd or 3rd stringers - I fully expect them to give 100% on every play, and I sure wouldn't cheat them out of the opportunity to do so, either.
_________

That's the real problem with such a rule. Exactly what do you tell your kids?

I once was forunate to coach a remarkable girls youth soccer team - we would go entire games without the ball crossing midfield. There was a 'four goal lead' rule in the league, so I would make adjustments and put all the 'weaker' (for want of a better word) kids up front. But that still left a lot of talent on D and I had to tell them they could not cross midfield. I appreciated why the rule existed, but that ain't soccer.

 

[martinss01]

ignorance. theres a difference between having your first stringers in and tossing bombs with 12 seconds left on the clock in the 4th while being up 50 - 0 and having the 3rd stringers in starting at halftime and still managing to score on the opposing team. rules like these are nothing more than pure and simple lazyness. i don't want to actually review anything or think at all. so ill just impose an arbitrary rule that has no real merit and call it a day.

 

[ScarletBlood31]

If you can score the points, then you should be allowed to score the points.

As far as morality and sportsmanship goes, I think that as long as backups are playing in the blowout games, and you are not throwing deep every play to score as much as possible, I think it is within basic sportsmanship. There should be no penalty for not abiding by these ethics, except for losing respect from your opponents, and getting the reputation as a coach that would purposely stomp on weaker opponents unnecessarily.

 

[tedginn05]

I think the rule has a good "purpose", its just the way the rule is thats the problem. Things can be done to make it fair for both teams.

Set it up where before every game, a coach puts in a starting line-up for that game. Once a team is up by ___ amount of points, the coach must remove the starters. Once the team gets to a 50 point lead, all starters must be out.

Its that simple


My school has rarely been on the "bad" side of these blowouts. We are usually the ones who are dealing the blowouts. I remember my freshman year, we led East High(Who was absolutely horrible that year) 56-0 in the 2nd.

By that point coach had already took out the starters way early in the 2nd. But our team could not be stopped. And we ran it up the gut every play from the 2nd quarter on.

Ending up winning 72-0. But if our coach "wanted" to, he could've made it alot worse.

 

[Thump]

And yet again, the pussification of America continues.

 

[exhawg]

I think it is well established that the only thing sports related in the state of Connecticut is UConn.

 

[Golferdow01]

This is great! How about we make it a rule that every game ends in a tie?!?

 

[djtidebuck]

This is a bad rule. The best team in our district this year, won every conference game by more that 40 points. They went on to win the state championship. There largest margin was 68 in a game where may of there points came from defense and special teams, (28 I believe).

If the state wants to punish coaches for running the score up, they should do it on a game by game basis. However, I think that is a bad idea as well.

 

[Muck]

Things can be done to make it fair for both teams.

Since when is competition ever fair?

I think it is well established that the only thing sports related in the state of Connecticut is UConn.

Hell and that's women's basketball.

 

[tibor75]

One of the better quotes I've heard was after we beat Pittsburgh 72-0, Johnny Majors said something like "They tried to keep it under 60, but we wouldn't let them"

We scored on a 4th and goal from the 15 yard line with a straight ahead run. Then Michael Wiley scored on a punt return with 8 men on the field.

 

[buckeyegrad]

And yet again, the pussification of America continues.

100% agree.

This goes right up there with requiring teachers to use purple ink when grading papers instead of red as it is considered a less "harsh" color.