100-0

I'm conflicted. One of yahoo's top news stories right now is about the Dallas coach that ran up the score of a basketball game to 100-0 a week or so ago. I heard the story the day in passing after it happened and thought he was probably a jerk. But then I read the Yahoo news story. And now I'm conflicted.

According to the news story, the girls were shooting 3-pointers in the 4th quarter. And while that may sound horrible to some, 3-pointers are the hardest shots to make. They weren't doing layups (the easy shots) but going for the hard ones. Some of the comments on the news story suggested that the coach should have told the girls to play opposite handed, or miss shots on purpose. That's what I disagree with.

I come from an athletic background, and my kids are involved in all sorts of sports. Never, ever, not one time would I EVER tell my kids to be less than they can be because someone else wasn't as good as they were. Ever. And I guess that's where I can somewhat see the coach's point of view. I applaud him for not making his girls "less" because their opponents weren't very good. And basketball is a different sport than say baseball or football. With baseball you can change positions up drastically and put kids in unfamiliar spots. Same thing with almost with football...although you obviously wouldn't put a 90 pound kid on the offensive line. But in football you could run the ball more. Whereas in basketball, you're kind of stuck. All positions participate in all plays and you have to know what one kid is doing in order to know what you are doing. So everyone on the court knows the basic fundamentals of each position. Especially if you are a good team.

So after the 100-0 game, the school issued an apology and said that they were a Christian school and the coach shouldn't have done it. The coach emailed the paper shortly thereafter and told them that he would not apologize because his girls had success, and he would never intentionally run up the score. He did what he could to keep the score down while at the same time not compromise the girls' abilities. Therefore, he feels that he has nothing to apologize for. And I agree with that position.

I can see the argument more if you are playing recreational sports. But when you are in a competitive league, and high school and college and beyond are definitely considered competitive, then it's a whole different ball game.

In any other aspect of life, I would never tell or allow my kids to be less than their potential. For me, this same rule applies to sports. You may not always win, but you always play to the best of your ability.