Author Topic: Now the UIL is taking over parenting and coachin...  (Read 3981 times)

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WABill

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Now the UIL is taking over parenting and coachin...
« on: March 20, 2011, 08:35:27 AM »
UIL plays the roll of Mother Hen in Austin

By Evan Ren

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Anyone who has attended a closely fought high school playoff game in any sport has seen it, and it never gets any easier to watch.

I'm speaking of the kids who cry their eyes out shortly after being hit with the realization that their championship hopes are gone.

No one with a heart can watch it and not feel badly for them, and it's tempting to say something to ease the pain. But there's a very thin line between consoling an ailing teenager and flat-out insulting their intelligence.

Are you listening, UIL?

I bring this issue up having just returned from the boys state basketball tournament in Austin where the University Interscholastic League is now playing the role of postgame psychologist each time a team is eliminated.

Shortly after getting their hearts ripped out by season-ending loss, the players are then asked to line up on the court, where a UIL representative takes a microphone and tells them what everyone in the arena already knows.

"The speech" as it became known among some of the media members covering the event, varied to a certain degree, but here's the gist of it:

— Remind the kids they had a great season, often using an example of a key win they had along the way to get to Austin (as if they would submerse that memory forever).

— Remind the kids their fans believe in them and supported them all the way to Austin (as if the kids didn't realize it or appreciate it already).

— Inform the players that one day the pain of this loss will subside, and they'll be proud of what they accomplished (as if their coach wasn't going to tell them that very thing in the locker room minutes later).

One of the UIL reps even told the players to turn and face their fans in the arena. She then told the fans to give the players a hug when they meet them after the game.

On the surface all of this sounds great. But if you stop and think about it, "the speech" is actually an insult wrapped in compassion.

It's not an intentional insult, but it's definitely patronizing, slightly authoritative and totally unnecessary.

You see, what our oh-so-wise friends at the UIL don't realize is that each player who lost at state will be consoled into the ground for at least a week when they return home.

All week long, they'll be hearing, "Hey, you guys had a great season" ... or ..."Hey, we went to Austin to see you guys play, and I just want to say you guys did a great job just getting there" ... or ..."Hey, don't worry. After a while, you'll learn to appreciate the season you had. Only four teams made it to Austin and you were one of them."

The kids already know all of this stuff. But since they were seen crying after the game, many adults assume they don't and want to help them cope, which is fine until we beat it into the ground (which we will).

So trust me, the last thing the players need is for the UIL to give the process a kick start by speaking to them as though they were 8 years old in front of 10,000 people. At that moment, they simply want to get off the floor, get to the locker room and cry like any normal human being would.

We should allow them that dignity, sans the lecture.

Tears of disappointment are natural, and are actually indicative of passion, determination and dedication (all mature qualities). That's why you'll see NFL players cry after a loss in the Super Bowl, or college basketball players crying after a loss in the NCAA tournament.

Can you imagine how stupid it would look if some NCAA official lined up a group of college basketball players after a loss in March Madness and told them how they should feel about the defeat?

It's really not much sillier to do it at the high school level, where the kids are far more resilient than many of us want to believe.

The UIL, however, chooses to coddle the defeated — falling just short of patting the players on the head and handing them lollipops as they exit the floor.

I can already hear the opposing viewpoints. "I think you're being a bit harsh, Mr. Ren. The UIL is only protecting the minds of these children while they're experiencing a huge disappointment."

Well, that's not what the UIL is for.

That's what parents are for. That's what siblings, friends, teammates, fans and coaches are for. Literally thousands of those people got the consoling process started shortly after each game.

The UIL weighing in on it only served to show who's in charge, and exhibited a mentality that extends beyond athletics. It's the same mentality that shows no faith in the resilience of our young people, and no belief in the concept that disappointment can actually build character.

The UIL won't be there to coddle these guys if they lose a job as adults, suffer through a divorce or get passed over for a promotion they feel they deserve. It won't be there to pick up the pieces if they lose their home or custody of their children.

Life is filled with disappointments that are far more painful than losing a basketball game.

The sooner our young people learn to push through them on their own, the better.

GWK

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Re: Now the UIL is taking over parenting and coachin...
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2011, 10:18:20 PM »
Amen.   We have to work toward ending the process of Pussification of America.

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Re: Now the UIL is taking over parenting and coachin...
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2011, 06:18:59 AM »
UIL plays the roll of Mother Hen in Austin

By Evan Ren

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Anyone who has attended a closely fought high school playoff game in any sport has seen it, and it never gets any easier to watch.

I'm speaking of the kids who cry their eyes out shortly after being hit with the realization that their championship hopes are gone.

No one with a heart can watch it and not feel badly for them, and it's tempting to say something to ease the pain. But there's a very thin line between consoling an ailing teenager and flat-out insulting their intelligence.

Are you listening, UIL?

I bring this issue up having just returned from the boys state basketball tournament in Austin where the University Interscholastic League is now playing the role of postgame psychologist each time a team is eliminated.

Shortly after getting their hearts ripped out by season-ending loss, the players are then asked to line up on the court, where a UIL representative takes a microphone and tells them what everyone in the arena already knows.

"The speech" as it became known among some of the media members covering the event, varied to a certain degree, but here's the gist of it:

— Remind the kids they had a great season, often using an example of a key win they had along the way to get to Austin (as if they would submerse that memory forever).

— Remind the kids their fans believe in them and supported them all the way to Austin (as if the kids didn't realize it or appreciate it already).

— Inform the players that one day the pain of this loss will subside, and they'll be proud of what they accomplished (as if their coach wasn't going to tell them that very thing in the locker room minutes later).

One of the UIL reps even told the players to turn and face their fans in the arena. She then told the fans to give the players a hug when they meet them after the game.

On the surface all of this sounds great. But if you stop and think about it, "the speech" is actually an insult wrapped in compassion.

It's not an intentional insult, but it's definitely patronizing, slightly authoritative and totally unnecessary.

You see, what our oh-so-wise friends at the UIL don't realize is that each player who lost at state will be consoled into the ground for at least a week when they return home.

All week long, they'll be hearing, "Hey, you guys had a great season" ... or ..."Hey, we went to Austin to see you guys play, and I just want to say you guys did a great job just getting there" ... or ..."Hey, don't worry. After a while, you'll learn to appreciate the season you had. Only four teams made it to Austin and you were one of them."

The kids already know all of this stuff. But since they were seen crying after the game, many adults assume they don't and want to help them cope, which is fine until we beat it into the ground (which we will).

So trust me, the last thing the players need is for the UIL to give the process a kick start by speaking to them as though they were 8 years old in front of 10,000 people. At that moment, they simply want to get off the floor, get to the locker room and cry like any normal human being would.

We should allow them that dignity, sans the lecture.

Tears of disappointment are natural, and are actually indicative of passion, determination and dedication (all mature qualities). That's why you'll see NFL players cry after a loss in the Super Bowl, or college basketball players crying after a loss in the NCAA tournament.

Can you imagine how stupid it would look if some NCAA official lined up a group of college basketball players after a loss in March Madness and told them how they should feel about the defeat?

It's really not much sillier to do it at the high school level, where the kids are far more resilient than many of us want to believe.

The UIL, however, chooses to coddle the defeated — falling just short of patting the players on the head and handing them lollipops as they exit the floor.

I can already hear the opposing viewpoints. "I think you're being a bit harsh, Mr. Ren. The UIL is only protecting the minds of these children while they're experiencing a huge disappointment."

Well, that's not what the UIL is for.

That's what parents are for. That's what siblings, friends, teammates, fans and coaches are for. Literally thousands of those people got the consoling process started shortly after each game.

The UIL weighing in on it only served to show who's in charge, and exhibited a mentality that extends beyond athletics. It's the same mentality that shows no faith in the resilience of our young people, and no belief in the concept that disappointment can actually build character.

The UIL won't be there to coddle these guys if they lose a job as adults, suffer through a divorce or get passed over for a promotion they feel they deserve. It won't be there to pick up the pieces if they lose their home or custody of their children.

Life is filled with disappointments that are far more painful than losing a basketball game.

The sooner our young people learn to push through them on their own, the better.



 ^flag

Had to find out where this article originated and it is from the Online Reporter News in Abilene. Mr. Ren does make some pretty astute observations about the good works of the folks over there on Manor Road!    z^