![]() ![]() Rivalries are at the heart of high school sports. But the next time you want to lament a foul call or lack thereof from your armchair vantage point in the stands, perhaps tempering that visceral reaction over the most mundane calls might make for a happier evening for all parties involved. We need to have productive dialogue about the state of officiating, including and especially when it doesn’t reach a high standard. And there comes a time to be selfless in support. We’re all human.īut when we can find it within ourselves to emerge from what divides us and what places us on opposite sides, instead supporting those in need of it, we display the good intention at our core. At halftime, they were held accountable, acknowledged their lack of decorum and simply played soccer from there, all the way into a positive result.Įmotions run high sometimes. Those members of the opposing side, likely realizing what had transpired was an overreaction and it was time to focus on a comeback, moved on.Īt a separate match, another side was notably vocal with the opposition and officials. A member of the ball boy’s team, displaying laudable maturity, defended him for the misunderstanding. Something interesting happened from there. When a ball went out of bounds, he threw the ball toward the goalkeeper thinking it was a goal kick instead of leaving it on the touchline for a throw-in, as it should have been. Members of the opposing side became loudly critical. As always, no identities will be invoked in this space so a broader point can be better communicated without insulting or embarrassing anyone.Ī ball boy briefly lost track of match situation. While this is a general high school sports point, let me focus on soccer momentarily.Įarlier this season, I covered a match. Those that reach unfamiliar heights of success, but have neighbors who can’t shake the concept of rivalry and disdain from it, even for an exception.The school or program that has hit a rough patch in its history.The student-athlete who is trying to find some semblance of normal while battling personal adversity that doesn’t reach the spotlight.The student-athlete who is capable of state caliber but needs time and space to relocate that caliber once more.The coach who has infused improved fortune into a program, but is facing a lack of patience over one “bad” season.The online ticketing volunteer with whom the line loses patience as a bar or QR code won’t scan.The soccer official needing an escort out to the parking lot due to a disputed offside call.There is almost nothing that can’t be justified in supporting the quest for success, whatever definition success may have.Īnd yet, it is so challenging to translate that desire for success and aspiration into supporting others when necessary and applicable. There is an irony in high school sports in partisan interest. ![]()
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