Milk That Cow
12-26-2005, 02:41 PM
This specifically mentions 19-3A, but it can apply to any district selection process...
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http://www.rockdalereporter.com/sports3.htm
ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS AREN'T FOR EVERYONE
Bill Martin's Sports Column
I would like to symbolically join hands with my sports writing bretheren, or as the great sports scribe Blackie Sherrod called us— “the great unwashed”— and address a subject that has my hackles in an uproar.
This particular subject always strikes a nerve with me. I have already opined on the saturation of the state football playoffs, now it’s time to straighten out yet another inconsistency: the process of selecting all-district teams.
I’m calling for FBI investigations, congressional hearings, special sessions of the state legislature, the appointment of a special prosecutor and maybe even one of those CSI TV shows.
Nathan Sanders of the Fort Worth Star Telegram and Edward Carifio of the Temple Daily Telegram have already sounded off on the touchy subject.
Brava I say. Brava.
It is time for us to band together and compose some kind of tort reform involving the selection of all-district teams_— in all sports.
“There’s a thin line between encouraging and pandering,” says Carifio, “between recognition and bribery.”
“Not everyone deserves recognition, plain and simple.”
Ol’ ball coach bristles
A seminal moment for me involving the mythical squad happened several years ago when the Temple Wildcats placed two quarterbacks on that particular all-district team. Two.
Now I rang up old Bob McQueen, the legendary Temple ball coach and queried as to why he felt it neccessary to place not one, but two quarterbacks on the all-district team.
Bob did not take too kindly to my interrogation and found it strange that I would even question this oddity.
He did explain that his starting quarterback got hurt halfway through the season and the backup played pretty well for the remainder of the year. Here’s the kicker: Temple did not even make the playoffs that year despite the fact that they had two all-district quarterbacks.
With all due respect, if I had two all-district quarterbacks, I probably could win state.
Too all-inclusive
If I’m the best player in the district and you’re a guy who mostly sits the bench but plays just enough and we both make the all-district team, what’s the point ?
If everybody that plays makes all district, why pick an all-district team ?
I would love to get a fax or e-mail that said, “District coaches announce all-district team— everbody made it.”
Or as Sanders wrote in his scathing column, “And the winner is... everybody”.
It would save all of us a lot of work and make a great headline in the process.
I have talked to countless coaches over the years on this very subject and of course none will go on record and I really can’t blame them.
But the coaches tell me that they all go into these all-district voting sessions with the best of intentions, but once they think an opposing coach has unfairly put a player up for nomination, then it’s Katy-bar-the-door.
While each coach is all about protecting his own players, the process begins to snowball and spins out of control.
Second biggest factor: having to deal with mama’n them.
That coach doesn’t want to have to go home and explain to scowling parents why their son did not make the 150-member all-district team.
Just last month, 75 players were named to the District 19-3A all-district volleyball team. There are eight teams in the district. Only six players can play at one time. You do the math.
For a lot of years, I could even give credence to the first team selections. But even that is getting out of control with the abundance of MVPs.
District MVP, offensive MVP, defensive MVP, most valuable MVP...
District dandies
District 19-3A chose three MVPs this season and actually, I don’t have a problem with that. All three are deserving and it would be hard to pick between them.
They all contributed something special to their respective teams in a year when District 19-3A made quite a showing.
I do have some questions concerning Cameron’s T.J. Ollivari as offensive MVP when you just picked three district MVPs and also the ommission of Rockdale’s super sophomore Bobby Joe Tindle who had 125 tackles this season.
The coaches did redeem themselves however, by recognizing the fantastic season turned in by Rockdale senior Austin January as the defensive player of the year.
There’s no doubt it was well deserved, but still a surprise.
It’s good to know that they were also taking notice of what we were all seeing on the football field week-after-week.
Come to think of it, it probably wasn’t all that difficult to take notice when someone wearing your opponent’s uniform seems like he is planted in your backfield.
What makes this honor so much more impressive is the fact that the Tigers were 3-7. Players on 3-7 teams mostly go unnoticed.
Speaking of going unnoticed, Aaron Coker must have gotten someone’s attention with all his dirty work in the salt mines otherwise known as the offensive line.
So, it’s up to our coaches to bring back a little integrity to something that means so much to a lot of people.
It’s just not fair to those who truly deserve the honor.
I wouldn’t trade the all-district patch on my letter jacket for anything.
But hey, let’s just cut down on the number of patches out there.
===========================================
http://www.rockdalereporter.com/sports3.htm
ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS AREN'T FOR EVERYONE
Bill Martin's Sports Column
I would like to symbolically join hands with my sports writing bretheren, or as the great sports scribe Blackie Sherrod called us— “the great unwashed”— and address a subject that has my hackles in an uproar.
This particular subject always strikes a nerve with me. I have already opined on the saturation of the state football playoffs, now it’s time to straighten out yet another inconsistency: the process of selecting all-district teams.
I’m calling for FBI investigations, congressional hearings, special sessions of the state legislature, the appointment of a special prosecutor and maybe even one of those CSI TV shows.
Nathan Sanders of the Fort Worth Star Telegram and Edward Carifio of the Temple Daily Telegram have already sounded off on the touchy subject.
Brava I say. Brava.
It is time for us to band together and compose some kind of tort reform involving the selection of all-district teams_— in all sports.
“There’s a thin line between encouraging and pandering,” says Carifio, “between recognition and bribery.”
“Not everyone deserves recognition, plain and simple.”
Ol’ ball coach bristles
A seminal moment for me involving the mythical squad happened several years ago when the Temple Wildcats placed two quarterbacks on that particular all-district team. Two.
Now I rang up old Bob McQueen, the legendary Temple ball coach and queried as to why he felt it neccessary to place not one, but two quarterbacks on the all-district team.
Bob did not take too kindly to my interrogation and found it strange that I would even question this oddity.
He did explain that his starting quarterback got hurt halfway through the season and the backup played pretty well for the remainder of the year. Here’s the kicker: Temple did not even make the playoffs that year despite the fact that they had two all-district quarterbacks.
With all due respect, if I had two all-district quarterbacks, I probably could win state.
Too all-inclusive
If I’m the best player in the district and you’re a guy who mostly sits the bench but plays just enough and we both make the all-district team, what’s the point ?
If everybody that plays makes all district, why pick an all-district team ?
I would love to get a fax or e-mail that said, “District coaches announce all-district team— everbody made it.”
Or as Sanders wrote in his scathing column, “And the winner is... everybody”.
It would save all of us a lot of work and make a great headline in the process.
I have talked to countless coaches over the years on this very subject and of course none will go on record and I really can’t blame them.
But the coaches tell me that they all go into these all-district voting sessions with the best of intentions, but once they think an opposing coach has unfairly put a player up for nomination, then it’s Katy-bar-the-door.
While each coach is all about protecting his own players, the process begins to snowball and spins out of control.
Second biggest factor: having to deal with mama’n them.
That coach doesn’t want to have to go home and explain to scowling parents why their son did not make the 150-member all-district team.
Just last month, 75 players were named to the District 19-3A all-district volleyball team. There are eight teams in the district. Only six players can play at one time. You do the math.
For a lot of years, I could even give credence to the first team selections. But even that is getting out of control with the abundance of MVPs.
District MVP, offensive MVP, defensive MVP, most valuable MVP...
District dandies
District 19-3A chose three MVPs this season and actually, I don’t have a problem with that. All three are deserving and it would be hard to pick between them.
They all contributed something special to their respective teams in a year when District 19-3A made quite a showing.
I do have some questions concerning Cameron’s T.J. Ollivari as offensive MVP when you just picked three district MVPs and also the ommission of Rockdale’s super sophomore Bobby Joe Tindle who had 125 tackles this season.
The coaches did redeem themselves however, by recognizing the fantastic season turned in by Rockdale senior Austin January as the defensive player of the year.
There’s no doubt it was well deserved, but still a surprise.
It’s good to know that they were also taking notice of what we were all seeing on the football field week-after-week.
Come to think of it, it probably wasn’t all that difficult to take notice when someone wearing your opponent’s uniform seems like he is planted in your backfield.
What makes this honor so much more impressive is the fact that the Tigers were 3-7. Players on 3-7 teams mostly go unnoticed.
Speaking of going unnoticed, Aaron Coker must have gotten someone’s attention with all his dirty work in the salt mines otherwise known as the offensive line.
So, it’s up to our coaches to bring back a little integrity to something that means so much to a lot of people.
It’s just not fair to those who truly deserve the honor.
I wouldn’t trade the all-district patch on my letter jacket for anything.
But hey, let’s just cut down on the number of patches out there.