Senioritis or Stressed-Out?

Senior year of high school is certainly a stressful time for young scholar athletes. Starting in the fall with their last chance to take the SAT's, applying to colleges by their various deadlines, along with the regular school work, volunteering, participating in clubs, and possibly working at a job and you have students' under a lot of stress. I forgot to mention the stress of awaiting those college acceptance letters. I have seen many athletes fail to live up to their expectations in their final year of high school. My speculation is that they are spread too thin. In fact, I have warned parents and players of taking on too much during such an important year.  In the Spring season combine Prom, AP exams, final exams, senior trips and graduation, with post season play and you have a perfect storm for disaster. Such was the case with my own son. Unfortunately, he was sick the day of the AP History exam and it was rescheduled for two weeks later. Of course, this coincided with his lacrosse team's quarterfinal game in the State tournament. For some reason the test must be given at 12:00 noon and lasts for more than three hours, even though most high schools end their day much earlier than that. The state game was scheduled for 4:00 and happened to be a 2-2 1/2 hour drive away. My son was taking the exam while his team left early to travel to their opponent. Our plan was to leave directly from the test and hope to get to the field for the second half of the game. But at 3:20 he was in the Athletic Director's office discussing the 2 1/2 hour journey and it was recommended that he not even bother taking the trip. I was hopeful that the route I had planned would get us there in 2 hours. To my thinking, he should have been on the field, even if he wasn't able to play, with his team for what might have been the last game of his high school career. But we didn't go and waited anxiously to hear the outcome of the game, hoping that they would win and he would have another chance to play. Unfortunately, the outcome was not in his team's favor, and his playing time was over. Not to mention the fact that we will always wonder whether there would have been a different outcome had he been there. The choice of taking the test or going to the game was my son's and he discussed it with his teacher and coaches before making the decision. Of course, I  am proud of him for making such a difficult decision. Now all we have to do is wait for the results. Then wait to see if the credits are actually accepted by his college. I have never been a big fan of Advanced Placement courses because the rigorous curriculum is difficult for high school students that have so many other time commitments. After this experience, I haven't changed my mind.

Honor the Game

Honor is the Game is a motto that US lacrosse uses in promoting the game of lacrosse. Several times recently, at both high school boys and girls games, this theme seems to have been forgotten. When checking gets out of hand, it becomes dangerous for the players on the field. It also gives an unfair advantage to the player or team that is playing not just aggressively but out of control. At my son's recent high school game, many dangerous checks went uncalled. As the game progressed, players on both teams became more aggressive. Finally, in the third quarter, a teammate of my son's, was called for being in the crease after taking a shot. The young man was laying injured in the crease because he had just been illegally checked and fell into the crease. As the coaching staff and trainer ran onto the field, the head coach was yelling at the referee for not making correct call(s). I couldn't hear all of the conversation but the coach was eventually given a yellow card. Normally, I don't condone coaches yelling at referees but I think the coach was entirely correct in sticking up for his players. Silence ensued on the field, in the sidelines, and in the stands. I think everyone understood that the game was getting out of hand. No one wants to see an athlete get hurt. After that the game settled down and my son's team scored a few quick goals that sealed the game.

In two recent girls's games, the other teams were very aggressive and committed many fouls that were not called by the referees. Our team started the season very competitively and while we didn't see a lot of wins, we were scoring 12-15 goals per game and kept the score close. In the last two games we scored 3 and 5 goals respectively. Our players were handicapped by the incessant fouls committed against them. It is difficult to maintain possession with three players on your back and then getting checked into your head or across the body. We had five players with bloody fingers and knuckles from getting checked in their hands and one bloody lip. If you don't know the game, checking is generally aimed at the crosse or head of the stick with the intention of knocking the ball loose, not at players hands.

I do wish the referees had called tighter games but the responsibility lies with the coaches as well. Coaches should not condone or encourage "dirty" play. As one of our players came off the field, she commented that our team was classy and better than the other team. Another player noted that lacrosse is a game of finesse and that what we just played was not lacrosse. It is frustrating to see that our players' skill is not awarded and they are not given a chance to actually play the game. However, I am proud of them and they walked away with their heads held high. They honored the game.