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By Mark Studyvin
Rocklin Herald Sports Editor
Within the past few weeks, the excitement of league championships have been swirling in the air.
Although many of the area teams have enjoyed the flow of adrenaline that accompanies post-season competition, some have been left out.
The Roseville baseball team seemed in place to win a playoff spot with a 6-5 win over Oakmont. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Mira Loma and Jesuit filed a complaint that Roseville and Foothill had not made up a rained-out game in a timely fashion.
No matter how minute it may seem, according to league bylaws both teams must forfeit the game.
"I don't know who gained what," Roseville coach Kelly Mayo said, reflecting on the possibility that the bylaws were used to gain an advantage into the playoffs. "I just know what the outcome was. The kids felt cheated in the forfeit situation."
Both sides had a legitimate complaint; that is, if the integrity of the bylaws were the ultimate concern. But if the desire to get into the playoffs was paramount to Mira Loma and Jesuit, then that is pure greed.
"We lose close ball games, and that's the game of baseball," said Mayo. "But these kids didn't even have a chance."
And if that wasn't enough political intrigue to spoil high school athletics, then listen to the complaints about meet officials at the subsection track meet.
The Tigers' junior varsity 1600-meter relay team won their event by five seconds, but were disqualified because one runner's shorts were not school-issued. Once again, a trifle part of the league bylaws were used as a weapon to erase performances.
"From a distance you couldn't tell that his shorts were different," Roseville track coach Casey Griffin said. "To disqualify a kid because of his shorts is a little ridiculous. This is too nit-picky. But the meet officials said there's nothing I can do about it."
The week prior to the subsection meet, I was at El Dorado High School for the Sierra Foothill league track championships. I witnessed meet officials and several coaches arguing about league bylaws dealing with - yes, you guessed it - shorts. The young runner avoided the conflict and grabbed another pair of shorts.
Does it really matter? Shorts are shorts. The rules state that an athlete should be in a school-issued uniform. If that's the case, then for a track competitor the top should be enough.
Athletics is an integral part of any child's education. It instills pride, builds upon physical fitness, and teaches teamwork. Our children can learn all this despite the greed that has permeated from professional sports all the way down through college and high school athletic programs.
But when the very same instructors we rely upon for our future display a win-at-all-costs attitude, competition's true meaning becomes diluted in a pool of wanton desire.
We have already seen what is in store for our athletes who become professional. The drug rehabilitation of our superstars in the 80's only gave way to free agency and arbitration in the 90's.
And it all starts at the high school level where every athlete eventually comes from. The lessons these young students learn comes from our coaches and administrators whose sole dire is to win no matter the cost.
It was F. Scott Fitzgerald who once said "Baseball is a few dozen illiterates playing a child's game." Mr. Fitzgerald would be surprised at how intelligent our athletes have become, but not at how the game is being directed.
It is time for us to remember that sports is nothing more than a child's game, and leave sportsmanship and honor still intact.
Rocklin Herald Sports Editor
Within the past few weeks, the excitement of league championships have been swirling in the air.
Although many of the area teams have enjoyed the flow of adrenaline that accompanies post-season competition, some have been left out.
The Roseville baseball team seemed in place to win a playoff spot with a 6-5 win over Oakmont. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Mira Loma and Jesuit filed a complaint that Roseville and Foothill had not made up a rained-out game in a timely fashion.
No matter how minute it may seem, according to league bylaws both teams must forfeit the game.
"I don't know who gained what," Roseville coach Kelly Mayo said, reflecting on the possibility that the bylaws were used to gain an advantage into the playoffs. "I just know what the outcome was. The kids felt cheated in the forfeit situation."
Both sides had a legitimate complaint; that is, if the integrity of the bylaws were the ultimate concern. But if the desire to get into the playoffs was paramount to Mira Loma and Jesuit, then that is pure greed.
"We lose close ball games, and that's the game of baseball," said Mayo. "But these kids didn't even have a chance."
And if that wasn't enough political intrigue to spoil high school athletics, then listen to the complaints about meet officials at the subsection track meet.
The Tigers' junior varsity 1600-meter relay team won their event by five seconds, but were disqualified because one runner's shorts were not school-issued. Once again, a trifle part of the league bylaws were used as a weapon to erase performances.
"From a distance you couldn't tell that his shorts were different," Roseville track coach Casey Griffin said. "To disqualify a kid because of his shorts is a little ridiculous. This is too nit-picky. But the meet officials said there's nothing I can do about it."
The week prior to the subsection meet, I was at El Dorado High School for the Sierra Foothill league track championships. I witnessed meet officials and several coaches arguing about league bylaws dealing with - yes, you guessed it - shorts. The young runner avoided the conflict and grabbed another pair of shorts.
Does it really matter? Shorts are shorts. The rules state that an athlete should be in a school-issued uniform. If that's the case, then for a track competitor the top should be enough.
Athletics is an integral part of any child's education. It instills pride, builds upon physical fitness, and teaches teamwork. Our children can learn all this despite the greed that has permeated from professional sports all the way down through college and high school athletic programs.
But when the very same instructors we rely upon for our future display a win-at-all-costs attitude, competition's true meaning becomes diluted in a pool of wanton desire.
We have already seen what is in store for our athletes who become professional. The drug rehabilitation of our superstars in the 80's only gave way to free agency and arbitration in the 90's.
And it all starts at the high school level where every athlete eventually comes from. The lessons these young students learn comes from our coaches and administrators whose sole dire is to win no matter the cost.
It was F. Scott Fitzgerald who once said "Baseball is a few dozen illiterates playing a child's game." Mr. Fitzgerald would be surprised at how intelligent our athletes have become, but not at how the game is being directed.
It is time for us to remember that sports is nothing more than a child's game, and leave sportsmanship and honor still intact.