Good morning! Today, I read an interesting article about Kingsley High School Board, (Northern Michigan) intending to write a letter of protest to opposing high school, Benzie Central after their 17-0 soccer loss, involving opponent, Kevin Hubbell's record-setting 16-goals. As a school board member for my children's elementary school, this story caught my attention. I wondered whether the school board might be overstepping their role in this situation? Or, is their protest warranted? Is this a learning opportunity for the Athletic Directors? Coaches? Players? All of the above?
Check out the article here...
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-10-12/school-concerned-about-sportsmanship-after-new-soccer-record
My immediate reaction was that blame likely falls on the person who scheduled this game in the first place. These two teams obviously should not have been competing against each other at all. I am sure that the process for setting up high school competitions likely varies by state, by county, etc. Most states have different divisions to accommodate the wide range in program size and competitiveness. Kingsley's superintendent, Keith Smith's states, "Our soccer program is a fledgling program. We only have so many kids." So, you have to wonder why they were playing against this team, as they clearly did not anticipate such a poor matchup? Or, did the winning Benzie Central coach, Chris Batchelder, anticipate this mismatched game, as a record-breaking opportunity for star player Hubbell? Smith claims, "They set out to do it, and they did it." Batchelder told local news media that "he knew records were possible against the struggling Stags...yet he didn't intend to 'humiliate your players or your program' and apologized for some remarks." Batchhelder stated, "It was a player getting hot and I got lost in the opportunity the kid had in front of him." Was this opportunity to beat high school records and thus make headlines, as he certainly did? Was this opportunity to attract the attention of college coaches in pursuit of an athletic scholarship?
So, next question is, should the coaches have stepped in to limit such a substantial goal differential, for the sake of good sportsmanship? At what age/level does the Mercy rule expire?
On one hand, this is not recreational soccer, and as these young adults compete at higher levels, they need to learn how to win AND lose with class and grace, no matter the outcome. As kids mature, they have to face the (often) adverse reality that as in LIFE, there is no fairness in sports, nor should there be. Many would argue that particularly if this game had goal differential implications influencing the seeding of teams going into districts championships, etc., then a No Mercy rule would apply. Additionally, the competitive nature of highly talented athletes such as Hubbell is going to drive him to score goal after goal if he can, despite the potential for hurting the opponents' feelings. He knows this is high school soccer, not the Boy Scouts (with all due respect to the Boy Scouts 🙏).
As a sidebar, this reminded me of this fall, when we attended the USWNT game versus Paraguay in Cleveland. It was so exciting to watch our amazing U.S. Women's National Team play live, and yet, as I watched Carli Lloyd score her record breaking 5th goal, the game sort of made me cringe. I had to wonder, do these women truly find such glory in the beat-down of this clearly sub-bar team?! In any case, I was so excited that I happened to actually get her record-breaking 5th goal on video...
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| Caroline with her TCFC Teammates at the USWNT v Paraguay Game 9/16/21 at Browns Stadium |
https://www.facebook.com/1061766317/videos/4537551249600337/
You can read about the game here...
https://www.si.com/soccer/2021/09/17/carli-lloyd-records-first-career-four-goal-match-against-paraguay
Sorry for the digression! 😂
Getting back to the matter at hand, many athletes have been on both the winning and losing end of such an uneven matchup, and I think we would all agree there is little to be gained on either side. Obviously, it is no fun to get cremated by a clearly superior team. Yet, there is no glory to beat up on a clearly sub-par team either. As long as the loss isn't soul crushing (as in this case) most teams would acknowledge that they actually grow and develop THROUGH competition against tougher teams.
I would argue that whether or not you believe the No Mercy rule applies at this age, the coach mis-handled this situation, and missed out on a learning opportunity for greater life lessons, in pursuit of records and glory, even if achieved cheaply. For the most part, good coaches will shift their strategy, and proceed with countless ways to foster learning and growth without running up the score needlessly. Coaches can sub in the 2nd string or swap the offense and defense. They can play a man down (or in this case maybe 5 men down)? They can require players to make a minimum of 7, 8, 9, 10 passes before shooting. The options are endless, and the greater message to the players and environment is this: Although we are clearly the stronger team, rather than meaninglessly running up the score, let's challenge ourselves in different ways and extend some class and grace to the clearly less skilled/prepared/stacked team. Clearly, this is NOT the World Cup, and perhaps the Coach should have had a broader vision than to merely hand this kid a cheaply earned 'record' on a silver platter.
Nevertheless, it is an interesting discussion, and I do see both sides to this No Mercy versus Have Mercy debate. What do you think? Should this coach be apologetic for running up the score, or should we all just accept that there is not always 'fairness' in sports? What is the responsibility of a coach in this regard? Is running up the score just part of the game or is the coach liable to manage this in pursuit of good sportsmanship? It is certainly an interesting discussion and one that I can see from many points of view. What is your take?
