My Personal Soap Box

I was going through my normal routine this morning. Took a shower. Shaved. Got dressed. Had my one cup of coffee. Sat with my son to look at how our fantasy basketball team was doing. Turned on Mike & Mike.

Then I started scanning my twitter timeline. Wow.  Found quite the discussion-starter (or soap box material, as the case may be).

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/02/13/watch-a-high-school-goalie-tuck-the-puck-in-his-own-net-flip-off-his-coaches-then-peace-out/

Check out link above. It may help as you continue to read my rant, er, blog.

See, I'm a huge high school sports fan, but I'm starting to get fed up with selfish youth and high school 'athletes' and their parents. Since when is it okay to take out your frustrations on your teammates? Since when is it cool to sabotage a team's opportunity to play on a level field (or court, or sheet of ice)? I really don't care how much you (or your child) think you (or your child) should be playing. If it's really such an injustice, then so be it, but that's life. Someone's in charge. They make decisions based on what they see. If you think it's wrong, then don't take it out on everyone. Either deal with it and keep trying to help the team ... or quit before it affects the team.

It is not your right to play. If you want to play more, find a rec league, find a park, find open courts, find open ice, find some friends to play pick-up games. Or ... work harder and put in the time. And, even if you do that ... respect that a coach makes the decisions on what he or she thinks will be best for the team. This is called life. You will be dealing with it for the forseeable future. Personal justice is not always served. You will get laid off even though you think you are better suited for the job. You will be taxed more (percentage) even though you earn less. You will get pulled over for speeding even though others who speed do not get a ticket. It is not your right to make your problem (or injustice, as you see it) be everyone else's.

Find a way to respectfully deal with! First, change your behavior. Second, if you feel the system is wrong, then use the system to change the system. Third, realize that you can be happy with or without your current situation/problem; you don't have to bring others down; you are a part of something bigger than yourself; and it's not all about you!

In my own athletic career, I definitely felt like there was some injustice. I thought that I was better than at least one other player with whom I shared time. I believed that I had put in the work and that results showed that I should play more. I didn't play more. Tried to change my behavior: worked harder. Respected the coaches' decisions: did whatever I could to help the team. Realized that I could be happy with or without my situation/problem: lived my life, found ways to keep sports as a central part, didn't make my problem everyone else's.

Looking back, I still think I should've played more, but I also see how my coaches made their decisions. I know that I could've (and should've) done more to improve my chances of playing more. No injustices, though. It has been my life and I appreciate all that I've dealt with. More than anything I think it has shaped some thoughts I keep having ...

Work hard. Get better. Have fun.

Take responsibility. Help others.

Pass it on.