Another idiotic HS rule

Ath Dir wrote:

It seems like all this attention is being paid to the rule violation, but the more concerning question is whether this man is fit to work with and influence children.

This is the bigger issue in my opinion too. Who cares about the rule. This coach needs to be an IRS agent or something, not a track coach. Stay away from kids please.

Unless there is a specific definition on the California rule book, a thin colorful string bracelet does not qualify. Every definition generally infers that jewelry is metalic and possibly adorned with precious gems. Not sure how a piece of string around the wrist is jewelry. Does this make a sweat band jewelry?

Our HS coach took a different approach.

He personally had one of our guys DQ'd after an an XC race for racing with an earring in. None of the other coaches had said anything. If I recall correctly, we went from winning by a lot to barely squeaking by.

We were angry at the time, but no one screwed up with the uniform/ jewelry rules again.

The Yankees did that with George Brett. The Yankee manager Billy Martin knew Brett had too much pine tar, waited for Brett to do something big -- in this case hit a two-run homer in the ninth to put the Royals ahead by one -- and pointed out the pine tar to the umps. Brett was called out, game over. The League reversed the call, and the game was resumed later with two outs in the top of the ninth. The Royals won.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brett_

(baseball)#The_Pine_Tar_Incident

I was at a high-school meet last week, and one of the officials complained about how the kids in the shot put kept walking out of the front of the ring. He said he tries not to be a jerk about it, but eventually he has to call the foul. It's the coach who has to teach her kids. It has to be ingrained and natural (like not jogging in lane 1). Better have it happen in a small meet than in a big one.

swofford11 wrote:

I had one coach tell me before he got the state indoor 1600 champion DQ'd. If your kid was second and the first placed kid broke the rules wouldn't you do everything in your power to make sure the kid who followed the rules won.

I am a high school coach, and I would never point out that a competitor is wearing jewelry because it has ZERO impact on the outcome of the competition. If you got the winner of a state meet DQ'd, good for you, I guess - the kid broke a rule, and so it's legit to DQ the kid. But it's still a shit rule, and if your kid is the kid in second, do you really think the kid won't look at that medal, look back on that race, and have a huge asterisk in his mind because he knows that he wasn't the best kid in the race that day, and the real champ was DQ'd on a technicality?

It doesn't do you kid any favors at all. This coach is a f***ing limpdick coward. Winning on a technicality is losing.

And another thing: my team has one of our state's best 4x4 relays, and we have heard grumblings from other coaches that our kids' compression shorts don't match. So now we have had to cover our asses and make sure that everything is right. Our county meet starts tomorrow, and I know for sure that a few coaches will be lying in wait at the finish line to point the finger at our guys when we win the race and the meet. Too bad for them the kids all have matching shorts now. I look forward to seeing the looks on their sorry faces when they look at our guys and they all match.

It's a good life lesson for kids to learn: when you're good, and others can't beat you straight up, they'll try to tear you down in other ways to get ahead. It's pathetic, but it transfers well to life in general.

"Or it would be better if the coach had quietly told her that she needs to take it off, and not been a total dick who pulled a dick move to win some meet. What the hell kind of sportsmanship is that? If my coach in high school pulled that shit, I can guarantee you, the rest of my team would have been pissed at him".

Can you imagine thinking that advising the opposing competitor/coach was not the right approach. And this is a guy you want teaching your kids about integrity and sportsmanship?

DaveW wrote:

Can you imagine thinking that advising the opposing competitor/coach was not the right approach. And this is a guy you want teaching your kids about integrity and sportsmanship?

For many, it's not about integrity/sportsmanship, etc, it's about Ws and Ls.

No wonder there is such negativity directed at lawyers - they seek out technicalities for a living.

T-man wrote:

No wonder there is such negativity directed at lawyers - they seek out technicalities for a living.

What a stupid generalization.

T-man wrote:

It doesn't do you kid any favors at all. This coach is a f***ing limpdick coward. Winning on a technicality is losing.

I am glad we are in agreement........

There are a lot of jerk coaches out there who will us the rule book to win...

However, they are doing nothing wrong.......until the rules change they are just following the rule book.....jerk or not....

reply me wrote:

E-mail the AD

This coach should be absolutely ashamed of himself. The problem is that he probably ISN'T ashamed of himself. He probably thinks he did well. NOBODY wins in this situation. Technically, this asshole's team came away as the winner's, but everybody in their right mind knows they really lost.

Now you have a tainted "title" and everybody hates you. Congrats, asshole.

I've seen elite sprinters run with chains in their mouths. How is this rule a lesson for later in life when something more important is on the line when these rules don't even apply at higher levels?

I've ran at national level competitions in Canada wearing a chain and have never been asked to remove it or been DQ'd.

I thought the starting height for girls at most meets was 8 feet. How does the league's best vaulter top out at 7'6"?

Also, the girl is kinda hot (I'm close enough in age to get away with saying that).

Aside from the point that this coach is a jerk for pointing this out, how about the fact that this rule exists in the first place?

Forget about emailing the AD, email the National HS federation that keeps coming up with these stupid, inane, rules.

The time spent by coaches explaining these rules takes away from actual coaching time, the officials have something else to look at aside from actual rule violations, and the kids end up being screwed because of anal coaches and officials.

As unfortunate as these examples are, maybe the increased awareness of the lack of logic behind some of these rules will spur some change.

TK1451 wrote:

Also, the girl is kinda hot (I'm close enough in age to get away with saying that).

Dude, I don't think being 47 is really close enough!!

The fact that the coach would even want to win this way or even accept the victory speaks volumes about his smallness. He should not be coaching.

Depriving kids who achieve and work hard of their rightful victory....boy, that sure leaves some glorious high school memories and teaches a great lesson for life, doesn't it?

What a creep this coach is. I don't want to hear any of this "rules are rules" crap. No they are not, not if you have any kind of a brain and a conscience.

Rules like that should always be up for interpretation. Obviously there was an incident in the past that made this rule necessary. The officials should be given the right to make judgment calls in these situations, kind of like TV court. If the piece of jewelry had the potential to enhance performance or injure the athlete or other athletes, the DQ should only then be enforced. Piercings, necklaces, etc., the rule applies. But a string bracelet, no more harmful than shoe strings, IMO.

This is a triple win for Knowles.

1. He wins the meet.

2. He obviously can't have any friends, so he hate friendship bracelets - his actions have struck a blow against them.

3. Countless women have no doubt ruined his day by rejecting him, so now he gets to ruin some woman's day by having her DQ'ed.

Well played Mr. Knowles.