Mr. Soft Balls
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- Jan 23, 2015
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Politics in high school sports, it is an epidemic. It's a blatant occurrence at some schools, and hardly noticeable at others but still exists to some extent. As I see, there are two types of politics involved which changes how teams and players are affected. #1- The Politics of rules. Schools who either seek rule changes through OHSSA or alter their enrollment numbers to drop or move up in divisions to gain advantages. I have even seen teams avoiding make up games which have been postponed to a void losses to keep their winning records intact. #2- The biggest and most widespread issue which Irks me the most is, "Who gets to play?" Easy question right? (Example- Softball) You take your best 14 players and they make up your Varsity squad. Easy Peazy! Not so fast, not in the world of political influence. D1 and D2 is worse than D3 and D4 due to the larger number of girls trying out. Coaches may have to choose between up to 50 or more girls that will make up Varsity, 1 or 2 JV teams, and maybe a freshman team? This is where the politics come into play. Gone are the days where a coach puts together his A Team to achieve State glory. Today's game is more about pleasing parents and administrators. It seems always be the same culprits. Wealthy donors, board members, coaches, athletic boosters, and administrators in the school's Kids always seem to come out on top. These influential people have the most Athletic kids in the school? I attend tons of games every year and am always surprised at how some of these teams are, It is easy to see that some of these girls are not playing at the correct level. I have seen JV teams who could beat their Varsity counterparts. I feel it is absurd for a girl to be downgraded in competition due to a lack of a "Name." I have witnessed, multiple times, outstanding players who end up quitting due to the drama and this unfair practice. I could name 100 different scenarios but I think everyone gets my point. We lose too many good players and it makes the games less competitive. While I am sure there are schools and coaches out there who strive to put the best product on the field, to think that some sort of back deals doesn't happen would be foolish. Is there a way to fix this epidemic? I highly doubt it, as it has been happening for years. EVERY KID DESERVES A CHANCE, QUIT PLAYING POLITICAL BALL!