Inside the Cupboard
By: Shelia Mader
This has been a banner fall for Jackson County Sports.
If you read last week’s Cupboard and you follow Jackson County sports, you know the old saying of “I don’t want to jinx it” came into play big time last week. I bragged about the lack of unacceptable behavior on and off the fields this year. I praised parents, coaches, and players for a job well done. And I am still proud of the improvement of holding players accountable that has occurred this year.
However, no sooner is the ink dry on the newspaper than a county team’s player has to go off the deep end during a game no less. I don’t know if there were or will be any repercussions and I was told early Monday morning nor should it my concern.
As you well know, I tend to make a lot of things my business that others might consider should not be my concern. Kids have to learn what will and will not be acceptable and without consequences, they cannot learn that vital rule. Coaches have to put aside the desire for wins over losses when it comes to holding players accountable. It just won’t work any other way. Coaches also have to realize that they can’t expect players to be scholars on the field/court/diamond and know every move they should make.
Then, five minutes after stepping off the playing surface, expect them to be dumbed down to a box of rocks when it comes to actions coaches take that may not be up to par. Kids mimic what they see. Every child playing a sport at the high school and below level watches it the next level and trust me, they are watching every part of it.
Social media was flooded with unacceptable behavior this past weekend. I believe there were a total of seven ‘altercations’ for lack of a better word between players which is totally inexcusable. There were a couple of incidents involving coaches and as everyone knows, one of those involved Kirby Smart.
It’s no secret I’m a Gator fan, not a UF graduate by any means, but a fan. I never hesitated to call out Steve Spurrier for his on and off-the-field antics and I am not shying away from the ‘timeout turned clapping’.
As the saying goes, if you’re going to do or say something stupid, you best have broad shoulders and Kirby must have super broad ones because that was the dumbest thing that ever came out of his mouth IF he wanted to remain a respected coach.
He may be content that he got what he was after and won another game – and if that is that important to him, it’s fine with me. I can respect an opposing coach to a team I support but I cannot respect those actions and that’s the way it is from Inside the Cupboard.
