I've been attending most of the girls' games this season. In general, they've struggled a bit. It appears they have an excellent crop of freshmen and they are spread amongst the three teams; freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity.
I have to admit, when I saw the total number of girls who made the team(s), I was surprised they even attempted to commit to a freshman schedule. In my opinion, that just spread all three teams too thin.
What happened last night (1/22/2010) will partly support that opinion ... and will partly illustrate the ineptitude of the coaching staff.
When the freshman game began, the Comets had eight girls dressed. During the course of the game, two girls were unable to finish ... one girl was ill and one was injured during the first quarter, leaving six girls dressed and available.
So far, so good, right?
But what happened next is appalling ... as a spectator and as a fan of the Comets' athletic program. Even with six girls available to play, the coaches decided to play the fourth quarter with four girls!
In my opinion, and based on how the junior varsity and varsity games were managed, the coaches restricted the number of quarters two particular freshmen girls played in order to save them for the varsity game. Why was that? I wish I knew. Granted, the two girls seem like terrific young ladies ... and granted, they seem to be talented and loaded with potential.
But what message is being sent by those coaches to the rest of the team? That it's all about two girls and not about doing the right thing for all three teams? It wasn't about not having enough players ... they had an adequate number of girls to play the junior varsity and varsity games without sitting the two freshmen girls out their last quarter.
Equally appalling is the fact that (if I understand it correctly), the Athletic Director was immediately made aware of the situation and his response was that the decision was up to the basketball coaches. Oh, really? Then just what is an AD's responsibility?
Unfortunately, there were a few adults sitting behind me who were obviously supporting our opponents (Dublin Coffman). I overheard them wondering the same thing ... why was Central Crossing playing four girls with two other girls available and sitting on the bench? Talk about embarrassing.
Is this really how we want our athletic teams managed at Central Crossing? Is this really how you'd want your son or daughter coached? Is this really how we want our players respresented? Our parents? Our fans? Our community?
I hope not. |
Central Crossing Girls Basketball
Posted - 01/23/2010 : 12:50:19
