This is definitely political correctness run amok. What next? Spotting the weaker team points so they have a better chance of winning?
CHESHIRE, Conn. — The first Connecticut high school football coach facing suspension under a new rule aimed at punishing those who run up the score has won his appeal.
Bridgeport Central High School coach Dave Cadelina had faced a one game suspension for Central’s 56-point margin of victory over Bassick last week.
Under the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference rule, the head coach of any team that wins a football game by more than 50 points will be disqualified from coaching the next game.
Some coaches had dubbed the 50-point policy the Jack Cochran rule after former New London coach of the same name. Cochran’s teams logged four wins of more than 50 points last year, including a 90-0 defeat of Griswold.
Tuesday, Cadelina had an appeal hearing and a three member committee sided with the coach after hearing testimony that Cadelina’s team made its best effort to keep the score down by doing things such as removing starters from the game early as the margin increased and using running time in the second half.
Hat tip Steve Drake KSEV Radio
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Fool, He should have had the Cheerleaders and the Band to suit-up and take the field.
I do believe that it is in poor taste to run up the score on a losing team.
I remember Bum Phillips chewing out Dan Pastorini for running up the score on the Bengals during one game, despite the fact Bum had told him to hold back.
Simple
I hate teams that run up the score. A coach takes the chance of having one of his regulars getting hurt by a vengeful player that is having the score run up on. The only reason for running up the score at the college level is for rankings. I remember when U of H did it. Didn’t like it then don’t like it now!!!!
What was he supposed to do. He pulled his best and was playing the guys that rarley get to play. Was he supposed to tell them not to do their best?
Dang Simple
What poor taste?
Sometimes the other team just sucks. I have watched games in all sports where the winning team couldn’t help scoring short of declining to take the ball.
How about golf? You think Tiger Woods would purposely miss a putt so that he does not appear to be running up the score?
I know the solution here. All school sports should incorporate a Surrender with Honor rule. When they are getting creamed they can bring out the white flag and say we quit. The score will be adjusted so that the losing team loses by what maybe a touchdown.
In baseball the winning team must bunt after the reach a certain score level.
In basketball after a certain level the winning team plays with fewer men on the court.
Lord knows I would hate to see anyones “self esteem” bruised because of a damn game. An ego is a terrible thing to waste.
I have coached various sports for many years and I agree coaches should not run up the score. However, it should not be a regulation or a rule. It should, however be part of the character of the coach who is in the position of making decisions. A coaches main duty is to set an example for the kids. Not seeing how badly they can beat another team.
Ken,
You have defined the difference between a competitor and a sportsman. Regrettably, sportsman like conduct is rarely seen on the field and even less in the stands.
Letting an inferior team walk off of the field with some honor intact is an act of leadership I would rather see a coach demonstrate to the kids.
I played football for a small 3A school in the sixties. Most of the schools in our area were evenly matched, but I can remember playing against some of the powerhouses of the day and from the first snap knew it was going to be a long long game. Still, at some point you knew that they started pulling the punches once the game was in the bag.
Time dished out some irony. Shifting demographics and the closing of the steel mills dealt some hard blows to those powerhouse teams of the sixties. It has been a long time since those schools have seen a “good” season.
The observation I present to all those who hold sportsmanship is such low regard; Be careful, the shoe can sometimes be on the other foot.
Simple
Remember Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House? Physically gifted people should be handicapped with chains, cinder blocks and thick goggles to keep their performance down to normal.
#5
I do not like any of those rules. Do they actually do this somewhere?
At some point in life one must learn that they may not be the best at everything they do.
It is kind of like telling Bill Gates to slow down and let everyone else catch up. Not that is hasn’t been tried.
I am curious. Just how does one make the distinction that the coaches motive was to run up the score?
I do not know about Conn. rules, when I played High School Football one of the tie breakers to go to the playoffs was overall points scored during the season. You can imagine the scenario, what do you do about that?
#5
Excellent Idea. We can call it the “French Rule”. Because surrendering is what they do best. I agree with some others here. Sometimes the teams just stink. I graduated from Magnolia HS in ‘86. When we graduated we had lost every game but one for 6 YEARS and that one we tied. We had more people in our band than in the whole athletic department. I remeber scores like 96-0, 114-0. IF they had let the Band play we probably would have one a few. Losing is also called character building. It takes a better person to smile when they lose and to honestly congratulate the winner. Than vice cersa.
Hey. I guess the Big XII doesn’t have to worry about that with Tech’s new low powered offense. Go Frogs!
Getting your ace handed to you once in awhile is a good lesson. When winning is everything… losing makes the season… She story below for more…
Personal Story: When I was in fifth grade our YMCA B-ball coach was hospitalized. He was better by the last game of the season. We were undefeated and one of those pwoer teams (you know the one you hate because all the kids are 6ft tall and you think it’s unfair your kids short) anyway our PG said we should score 100 points for coach. So we did… 125 to 18. Great Game. Joe was grateful.
Later in life i suffered many great defeats 55-0 once to a cross time rival in football. Ouch… but you know what… winning and losing fades about as fast as your speed and skinny waist the moment you graduate competitive athletics. Maurice Clarett is in jail and the guy he ran over in Pee Wee Football is making millions.
So kids are being taught to no longer give 100%. Boy that’ll work in the real world.
this is disgusting! If they can win with a bigger score, then they worked harder and gave 100% -
I understand (and expect) good sportsmanship, but if the coach has 2nd-and 3rd-stringers on the field, and they’re still scoring, then what can they do? You can’t ask the backups to give less than 100% or let the other team run by them, that’s sending mixed messages at best.
The problem of highly unequal teams should not be handled on the field by the coaches during game time, and this is exactly what it seems they’re being asked to do…
I agree with those who say it is shameful to run up the score, but even more idiotic to impose sanctions for doing so. Arrogant winners who pour it on deserve the disdain they earn.
This is one of those proposals of the politically correct limp-wristed who don’t want to keep score in soccer and don’t want to give grades in school. Why? Because someone might feel inferior to someone else. DB is right - teaching kids to be mediocre will surely make them so.
Finally, anyone who has played even varsity high school sports know taht one of the most dangerous things you can do on the field is let up. Your chances of injury increase dramatically when you start to move at half-speed. This is a potential consequence the goofball Conn. do-gooders overlook.
On the other hand, happy hour is 109 minutes away.
You win some, you lose some. How you win, and more importantly, how you handle a loss is what builds character. It felt great to win a big game, but we always had the chance to build, improve and learn from a loss.
I am curious. Just how does one make the distinction that the coaches motive was to run up the score?
#17 - Based on what I have read about this, it is my conclusion that his motive was to win the game and then play his backups.
If his motive was to run up the score, the bench-warmers would have remained on the bench. Howizzit the coach’s fault that the bench-warmers were better than the other team’s starters?
In boxing the ref stops the bout when one boxer is beating the crap out of the other and there is no way he can win. Why not do that in other sports.
In my sons baseball league (8u-AA)they have a 5 run rule per inning. Why not have a 20 point per quarter rule.
#19 - Because a football game is timed? There’s a built-in cap to scoring already…
If the coach really wanted to be a bad sport he would get to 49 points and then have his team just sit down and let the other team score a few touchdowns. Then go back and score, never earning more than a 50 point spread. This coach didn’t do anything wrong - if he kept his starters in, then yeah…
Boy, we have school districts that outlaw a “zero” and little league teams that have no winners or losers, and now high school sports can have no run-away scoring. All for the self-esteem issue of the left. Of course I am sure that when these kids get out in the real world that they will continue to have these breaks given to them so that their feelings don’t get hurt. NOT.
Another gripe I have about the “no-zero” grading policy of some districts is that it makes the students in the districts that have REAL scores lower in the ranking when applying for college.