100-0 !

[growing_older]

We can argue back and forth with no outcome, but this is high school sports

Even at the High School level, the objective is NOT to win at any cost. Teams practice to improve their skills. Teams compete in leagues which keep track of wins and loses, and typically award championships to the team with the most wins. Yes, sports is a competitive arena, but it is also a means to teach teamwork, sportsmanship and other values. When team sports seek funding you can be sure they stress what a good character building experience this is, not that they will practice to win, win, win.

In a game where the mismatch between skill levels is so great that there is no reasonable competition between teams, there is no excuse for the "winning" team to try to maximize its score or humiliate the opponent. Teams usually use this as a way to give substitute players gametime or in extreme cases, play shorthanded. The idea that an easy win or playing with less intensity will somehow break the spirit or the skills of the "winning" team is an excuse for small minded adult coaches who are living out their own needs through the youth team. I've coached teams on both sides of these kinds of blowouts. When I was on the losing side of the mismatch, I've played teams that quietly made adjustments and teams that tried to run up the score. Teams with class have ways to make adjustments that still let the kids play with intensity.

I've also played against "winning is everything" coaches who taught their teams dirty tricks and even how to hit opponents on the sly so that referees would likely not notice. Some of these teams had stellar winning records, but I doubt it did the kids any good to play on them.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have coached HS girls soccer. The girls don't care if they win. You don't know what you are talking about. I have been on both sides of those games and there are no winners in a 100-0 game.

Then you have coached some people that I have not run across... I have not met anyone who played HS sports that would not say they wanted to win... not that winning was their number one priority... but I NEVER heard anyone say 'I want to lose'... never... so I think I know what I am talking about...

And I played in various sports.. and I knew I was outmatched in some... and knew that the chance of winning were nil to none... but I played anyhow and enjoyed the game.. and the defeat... But I STILL wanted to win...

My comment was not toward the game here... just that someone listed reasons to play and like you dismissed winning as one of the reason... I say again... winning IS a reason to play... and wanting to win is a reason to practice...

OHH, just remembered something my sister went through... her company sponsored a softball team... the first year they lost every game by the mercy rule... one game they were behind 79 runs in the first inning and never got up to bat... but they PRACTICED... and surprise to all... they won the city league the next year...

 

[FIRE'd@51]

one game they were behind 79 runs in the first inning and never got up to bat

Was it because of the mercy rule, or darkness?

 

[Dawg52]

Looks like the head coach of the winning team did not learn any thing from the route.

Rivals High - Coach says he's not sorry for 100-point win

 

[NotReady4Purple]

From that article

"We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."

So, his values would not allow him to run up the score on any opponent? Cognitive dissonance, eh?

 

[Texas Proud]

From that article

"We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."

So, his values would not allow him to run up the score on any opponent? Cognitive dissonance, eh?

I did not read the article, but heard on the radio this morning the coach was fired... seems that he kept the starters in the game until the end of the third quarter... a slight change on what happened....

Still, there were many people who could have stopped it IF they wanted..

 

[jIMOh]

Then you have coached some people that I have not run across... I have not met anyone who played HS sports that would not say they wanted to win... not that winning was their number one priority... but I NEVER heard anyone say 'I want to lose'... never... so I think I know what I am talking about...

And I played in various sports.. and I knew I was outmatched in some... and knew that the chance of winning were nil to none... but I played anyhow and enjoyed the game.. and the defeat... But I STILL wanted to win...

My comment was not toward the game here... just that someone listed reasons to play and like you dismissed winning as one of the reason... I say again... winning IS a reason to play... and wanting to win is a reason to practice...

OHH, just remembered something my sister went through... her company sponsored a softball team... the first year they lost every game by the mercy rule... one game they were behind 79 runs in the first inning and never got up to bat... but they PRACTICED... and surprise to all... they won the city league the next year...

I agree the objective of competition is to win.
But if you ask the players "why do you play basketball", I bet winning is not the answer given by more than one girl.
If you ask "what is the objective of a basketball game", I still bet you get an answer which resembles "to score, work as a team yadda yadda" more than "to beat the other team".

Boys will have winning on their radar more than girls and might list it as a reason for playing. In the case of 100-0 we are dealing with girls and having coached girls for years, your prejudices are not based on reality, but on your own stereotypes or predispositions.

 

[summer2007]

I'm glad this was posted.

I played soccer as a little kid but by the time I got to HS it was just about winning nothing else to the coach.

I think our society is overly competitive to the point of just being sick.

Everything HAS to be some sort of competition and as long as you win it doesn't matter what you had to do to win. Like for instance steroids and taping the other team etc.

It's really unnecessary and sick when you really think about it.

Jim

 

[mickeyd]

I wonder if anyone has asked the question: Why was this game even scheduled by either school? It appears to me that the coach was fired because he disagreed with the winning schools response to this game.

 

[Htown Harry]

Even at the High School level, the objective is NOT to win at any cost. Teams practice to improve their skills. Teams compete in leagues which keep track of wins and loses, and typically award championships to the team with the most wins. Yes, sports is a competitive arena, but it is also a means to teach teamwork, sportsmanship and other values. When team sports seek funding you can be sure they stress what a good character building experience this is, not that they will practice to win, win, win.

This Houston Chronicle columnist hits the nail on the head with his discussion on the "right" way to handle a mismatch.

Solomon: Covenant coach responsible for blowout | Jerome Solomon on Sports | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

"The Yates boys basketball coach regularly enters games knowing his team is far better than its opponent. The Lions’ average margin of victory in their 19 wins is 48 points.

Yates has won games this season by scores of 91-11, 105-34 and 105-35. As difficult as those misprint-appearing numbers make it to believe, they aren’t running up the scores..."
​

 

[Texas Proud]

I find it interesting that this has gotten the attention it has.... Here are some scores I found just looking here in Houston...

Below are 5A schools... so they have to be 'big'...

Madison 102, Sam Houston 2 - Final (Madison is where I went to school... but they have a LOSING record)
Elsik 90, Northbrook 10 - Final
Nimitz 108, Aldine 21 - Final (not quite as bad)

4A school

Brenham 58, Austin 6 - Final (43 -4 at half and both teams with a losing record)
Barbers Hill 74, Northbrook 14 - Final (52-5 at half)
Elsik 90, Northbrook 10 - Final
Nimitz 108, Aldine 21 - Final (57-5 at half)


And an interesting one...

Madison 48, Lee 9 - Final it was 48-7 at half... only 2 points scored the second half... so either they did not play or held the ball the whole time...

 

[ziggy29]

It's not just that it was a blowout. I think '100' and '0' are magic numbers. If it were 98-4 it might not get as much attention.

Having said that, it's not so much the margin of victory that many were appalled by, but rather the tactics used by the winners. Keeping the press for the entire game, not benching starters early and firing off three-pointers is pretty classless.

Not only that, but beyond bad sportsmanship it's also bad coaching. If one of your better starters goes down with an injury late in a blowout game that's long since been decided, you look like an idiot because you took unnecessary risks with their health. Plus, it's a good idea to get your bench real-game experience (and not just in practice sessions), because you never know when you'll need them.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

Madison 48, Lee 9 - Final it was 48-7 at half... only 2 points scored the second half... so either they did not play or held the ball the whole time...

This brings up an interesting point, somewhat the opposite of what happened in the Covenant game.

When I was a senior in HS, we had a very good basketball team, and were undefeated in league play. In our final game, we played the last-placed team in our league. Knowing they couldn't stay with us and would likely be "blown out", they held the ball (there was no shot clock in HS basketball back in those days). It wasn't until near the end of the first half that they took their first shot, and led 2-0 at half-time. In the second half, we were much more aggressive and fouled them, etc. We ended up winning the game 23-19. At the time, there were many who thought the "hold the ball" game plan employed by our opponent was poor sportsmanship. On the other hand, it was the only chance they had to win.

 

[noworkethic]

I think our society is overly competitive to the point of just being sick.

I am happy to see that I am not the only one who feels this way. It is such a rare occurrence for me to hear this opinion expressed that it sometimes seems that I am alone in my point if view. Summer, this one sentence made my morning. Now if I can find someone who agrees that "work ethic" is over-rated...

 

[ziggy29]

I am happy to see that I am not the only one who feels this way. It is such a rare occurrence for me to hear this opinion expressed that it sometimes seems that I am alone in my point if view. Summer, this one sentence made my morning. Now if I can find someone who agrees that "work ethic" is over-rated...

IMO, "work ethic" is a significant reason for the general rise in prosperity over the last few decades.

Having said that, it is possible to be so OCD about it that it feels more like a sickness than a virtue.

 

[mickeyd]

I seem to recall reading a story about this contest and I believe that it indicated that the coach of the losing team, down 59-0 @ halftime, gave the team an option of forfeiting the game, however the players decided to not do so.

 

[W2R]

I think our society is overly competitive to the point of just being sick.

I am happy to see that I am not the only one who feels this way. It is such a rare occurrence for me to hear this opinion expressed that it sometimes seems that I am alone in my point if view. Summer, this one sentence made my morning. Now if I can find someone who agrees that "work ethic" is over-rated...

I agree! It's not that I can't compete - - I have competed where it mattered and won when it was important. But I have no idea why people want to compete during their off time or when it doesn't matter who wins. This is one reason that I have not "gone online" with my Wii. I like to play games alone, that do not involve competition.

As far as work ethic goes, I have had a HUGE dose of that instilled in me. Now that I am 60 years old, I am looking forward to some "play ethic" or "relaxing ethic" in my life.

 

[bright eyed]

I did not read the article, but heard on the radio this morning the coach was fired... seems that he kept the starters in the game until the end of the third quarter... a slight change on what happened....

Still, there were many people who could have stopped it IF they wanted..

Now that is disgraceful - even for the kids on his team sitting the bench, I'd be pissed at this coach...wait, he's just like our coach!

Some coaches are just losers themselves who are pushing the kids to win on their behalf - to keep the starters in after a decent lead (20 pts is generous) is just pathetic.

The point is to win, but sometimes short sightedness makes them losers because they only put in players they are comfortable and everyone else loses, never learns or has a chance to get better or show what they can do...

Wondering why the losing team doesn't play with more teams at their level, sounds like they are in the wrong league.

 

[stargazer08]

I was a volunteer assistant coach for a junior high girls basketball team for 2 years. Good sportsmanship dictated that if you your team was ahead by 20+ points and it was obvious there was a Grand Canyon size gap between the skill level of the two teams, the winning team should not play full or half court presses. You played man-to-man and put in your second and third string players.

Playing any kind of press against a far inferior team does not help the higher skilled players improve their game. A bigger lesson in humanity and sportsmanship was lost when this coach kept utilizing plays against a team that was so far below his players skill level. Shame on him. It's not that I'm against winning a game. I'm against winning a game by humiliating the opposing team.

 

[Texas Proud]

Wondering why the losing team doesn't play with more teams at their level, sounds like they are in the wrong league.

I am not an expert in the Texas system... but IIRC this was a 'church' team... and they have their own league... some very good, some very bad...

But even then, I showed where some 'even' teams (based on the number of students going to the school) can be very one sided...


To sum up what most people feel... it was the coach that was the problem... how he handled the situation... not that the team won 100 to 0... and I will agree. Because to me a 102 -2 games is just as bad score wise, but nobody made a stink of that game.. (at least not that I heard).. so that coach must have done something right...

 

[summer2007]

noworkethic

Thank You!!

I have the problem of using my own head and so I have opinions that are unique as a result!

Jim

 

[Htown Harry]

This Houston Chronicle columnist hits the nail on the head with his discussion on the "right" way to handle a mismatch.

Solomon: Covenant coach responsible for blowout | Jerome Solomon on Sports | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

"The Yates boys basketball coach regularly enters games knowing his team is far better than its opponent. The Lions’ average margin of victory in their 19 wins is 48 points.

Yates has won games this season by scores of 91-11, 105-34 and 105-35. As difficult as those misprint-appearing numbers make it to believe, they aren’t running up the scores..."
​

Saw a news story today that made me think back to this thread. Yates' state championship basketball team is even better this year...

(from a HS BB web site) Yates, the defending Texas Class 4A state champion, opened the season with a 142-80 win against Dickinson. It has scored 163 against Houston Sam Houston, 148 against Houston Kashmere, 139 against Houston Stephen F. Austin, 131 against San Antonio Country Day, 128 against Houston Westside and 108 against Huntsville (Ala.) Butler this season. Only six times has Yates missed the 100-point mark, and four of those six games were at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii.
​

They are #1 in the country.

This story made the Chronicle front page today, largely because the frustrated losing team fouled hard, leading to a short fight. (Page 1 in Sports otherwise, i suspect.)

Yates boys set Texas scoring record in 170-35 win | Top stories | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

It's been a long time since I have been to high school basketball game. I just might go see these guys play once district play is over and the playoffs start.

Hard to judge these things based only on a news story, but I'm leaning toward the view that these guys are so good that it's hard for any team of 16-18 year olds to keep up. The coach played all 15 on his bench.