Girls basketball team gets booted from league for being too good
Girls basketball team gets booted from league for being too good
January 24, 2016
A Minnesota youth basketball team has been ejected from a league for being too good and now the coach, parents and players are crying foul.
The Rogers Area Youth Basketball Association girls high school team was forced to the sidelines by the Northwest Suburban Basketball League — and it’s all because the team is 3-0, Fox 9 reported Saturday.
“We found out Friday at lunchtime that we’re not going to be allowed because according to the league our girls were too talented,” coach Jason Hanauska told the station.
RAYBA sent parents a letter that said the main reason for the league’s decision was because other teams in the league “do not want to play RAYBA due to the skill level.”
“This is absurd,” parent Sherri Palmgren told the station. “Do we take the (NFL’s) Patriots or Cardinals, who are going to the championship game, and kick them to the curb because they’re too good?”
The league ejected RAYBA just ahead of a showcase tournament this weekend, according to Fox 9.
“Are we supposed to play worse just to make them happy?” team member Tessa McCarthy told the station.
Hanauska is slated to meet with the league’s board Monday.
Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog 
Bill Truitt replied:
that crack about the Patriots and cardinals is toooo funny; especially today. GO PANTHERS!!
January 25, 2016 at 8:31 am. Permalink.
Steve G replied:
Something very similar happened to one of my boys lacrosse team last spring where they were extremely dominant and a couple of teams in the league(parent initiated) felt their own kids being beat wasn’t fair and got the league to schedule their games with other teams…at least initially. After quite a bit of testy communication between the teams and the league(my boys team was being left without opponents and demand of refunds spoke pretty loudly) it was decided the original schedule would be abided but every player on the stronger team would have to play a position they didn’t normally; i.e. defense would play middie, attack would play defense, etc. Results were the same with blowouts with the kids just being really talented and one of those teams that just comes together every so often.
What’s discouraging about the practice is the willingness to avoid competition by the parents and the idea that one doesn’t lose by walking away. The motivation seems to be some type of protection of kids from emotional distress but the result is the teaching of failure…of course the kids lose by not facing adversary and the example set encourages mediocracy.
As a side note, that team of my boys was a rec league team. He also plays on a fairly good travel lacrosse team in the summer and a couple of the boys from the teams that wanted to unschedule his rec league team also plays on it. At one of the tournaments due to some schedule issues they weren’t able to play in their division. They had a choice of playing down or playing in a division with a bunch of older and more experienced kids…..they were middle school age and ended up playing against high schoolers. And, they were schooled. But towards the end of the tournament after witnessing what it took to play at that level they actually beat one of the teams. The next tournament back with their own level they ended up taking 2nd out of 50 teams…..the experience of losing and playing with the best is much more beneficial than running away. Fairness is opportunity…not the result.
January 26, 2016 at 10:52 am. Permalink.