Unfortunately, there are those who fail. In youth sports, basketball courts and other playing venues are actually classrooms in which good sportsmanship is taught. In fact, this is part of the pre-game prayer before every Allentown Central Catholic basketball game. Athletes and (most) coaches get it, but some students and parents can be downright ugly. That's what happened following a recent basketball tournament outside Wilson Area High School. It also happened during a recent hockey play-off game between between Parkland and Northampton Area High School. One of Northampton's players is a junior named Alyssa, and was taunted during the game because she's a she.
Here's what her aunt, Donna Bloss, posted on Facebook:
So here it is… My first serious rant on social media.I am sorry for this bad experience. I'm certainly no Parkland fan, and would only point out that a hockey rink is a classroom for good sportsmanship, too. The failures are almost always insecure parents (from any school) or kids (from any school) who are still immature. My experience has been that Parkland fans and parents are mostly decent folks.
Those of you that know me, know that I generally do not do a lot with social media, or in my case, Facebook, which is the only thing I even play with. When I do post, it’s generally something lighthearted and simple. Not this time!
My niece Alyssa, is a junior at Northampton High School. This tiny little thing is an amazing hockey player. And I’m not talking field hockey… I mean ice hockey. She plays for the Philadelphia Jr Flyers team that travels everywhere and is ranked sixth in the country.  She also plays for her high school varsity team where she is loved and respected by her team and flies around her opponents like a little gnat on the ice.
This past week Northampton was in the championship playoffs with their arch rivals Parkland High School. The level of unsportsmanlike conduct during these several championship games was mine boggling. I’ve toyed with whether or not to even put this out there for fear of upsetting my niece even further but she knows this was done out of sheer jealousy. They couldn’t go after her personality… She rocks. They couldn’t go after her skill… She kills it in the games. So this is what we’re left with. The Parkland fans stooping to an all time low. So now I have something to say to each of you…
TO THE PARKLAND COACHES:
Congratulations on taking the championship. WIN Is clearly the only message you convey to your players. Your heads are not in the sand (although I could probably tell you where they are) and we know you heard and saw things that you knew weren’t right and could’ve stopped. My brother‘s family was getting text messages from several people telling them that your team is walking around saying they’re gunning for Alyssa to hurt her. You had to know that that was their mindset. What makes it worse is the fact that you know this family. Your kids played with their kids when they were younger. You’re supposed to be role models for your team and instead were all about the “Win at all cost”. Shame on you!
TO THE PARKLAND TEAM:
I’m sorry… i’m sorry that you’re clearly upset that you have to play against a girl. I’m sorry that this girl could skate circles around you. I’m sorry that this girl is getting the attention of college scouts, and you’re not.  I’m sorry that you’re so threatened by this tiny little thing, who goes from skates and pads during the day to a dress and heels in the blink of an eye and looks fantastic! Congratulations and enjoy your trophy albeit tarnished from the ignorance of you and your fans.
TO THE PARKLAND FANS:
WOW! What a classy group you are. From the parent yelling “take her out“ to the group chanting “she has a penis“ and “35 you’re a dude“ to hanging this ridiculous sign. Competitive banter and egging each other on is all in the spirit of game. When a player on your, team twice her size, checks her extra hard into the wall and takes her down, she handles it like a pro. It’s rough but she gets back up knowing it’s part of the game. But personal attacks, bullying and borderline sexual harassment has no place in high school sports or anywhere for that matter. Have you people learned nothing??? And the principal of the high school knew about the sign. Another epic role model fail!
This concludes my rant. Please feel free to share this in hopes that it causes some conversations and awareness with regards to being kind to one another. She still has her senior year to go and hopefully next year will be a different story.
7 comments:
I saw her play in a different game, and she is a good player. I just saw this story on the Washington Post website https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/03/gender-reveal-ice-hockey-girl/ .
Ah, the sound of crickets. If she were leading the charge against immigrants, or wearing a "Gods, Gun and Country" t-shirt, we'd see some support for her.
Welcome to the Lehigh Valley..Racism and bigotry and general hate of anything/anyone who is considered out of the norm comes with the area. Remember..we are now a RED State and Pandora's box is wide open.
I truly believe 90% of "fans" at youth and scholastic sporting events "get it" and are there to cheer on their players and teams in a positive manner.
Sadly there are those who simply have zero self awareness and say and do whatever pops into their little minds. Generally its one of them, where their behavior gets so out of line, that someone from the "other team" has to say something and then tribalism sets in.
That all said, Parkland parents/students always amuse me with their generally pompous attitudes that completely ignore the fact that they're almost double the size of every school in the Lehigh Valley with a few exceptions. The simple volume and depth they have gives them advantages no other school can match - the reality is they should dominate D11 much more than they do.
U9 Developmental basketball. Non-competitive, no scores, no records are kept.
Opposing coach uses in a 1-3-1 half-court trap, with the best athlete standing at half court to defend. Upon stealing the ball, they heave ball down court for a layup time and time again. A play they've practiced, i'm sure, when preparing to play in a rookie league against 3rd graders who have never played before.
Celebration by the parents and coach after each score, like they just came back from a 20 point defecit!
Goes on entire game. Never drops to a 2-3 zone. Never converts to a man2man. I guess if it works, why change? Why give your own players a different experience? Why give the 8 year olds on the other team a change at success?
That's the type of coach that these players are learning sportsmanship from. Its not about the game, the opponent, the competition level. ITS ABOUT WINNING and CRUSHING the opponent.
Sad, in my opinion.
I'm sure you can get dozens of examples, just like this one in just about any sport. When is enough enough?
The counter-argument. The other team of rookie 8 year olds should learn how to play against the better team, if they want to enjoy the non-competitive game.
And we wonder why kids would rather sit in front of a TV playing a video game when they are 10 or 11 years old.
That's why it's important to have a good coach and a good league. My grandson was very lucky. In most leagues at that age, only man-to-man defense is allowed. Also, no fast breaks.
My grandson was usually the first defender the point guard would meet. He always managed to strip the ball away. But by the time he was 12, he was seeing better players who could take the ball from him just as easily, and did.
The important thing at U9 is fundamentals. Dribbling equally well with both hands, passing, ball control. You'd be surprised at the number of high school basketball players who never learned to dribble or shoot from both sides. That is an instant weakness. Instead of run-and-gun, it is the fundamentals that matter. The coach you describe is doing no favor for his kids.
As to those who would rather play video games or something else, that's OK, too. It's easy for a kid to burn out. He feels constant pressure when playing. The important thing is to have fun. If you can have fun and give 100%, you will play in high school and maybe even college. But to those who don't enjoy it, there are lots of activities.
I am no athlete, but thought I was. Every year I went out for football, and every year I was cut. Finally, in my senior year, the coach out me on the team. I was terrible, but enjoyed it so much.
Sad that adults act this way
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