LET THE GIRL PLAY BALL!

My daughter Rachel and I were in San Francisco last weekend to apply for Rachel’s German passport as well as visit my college friend Meri and her family who live in Pleasanton. During the weekend, Meri’s niece Hillary had a basketball game in the Oakland Coliseum Arena, which was a huge deal. Meri’s sister Teri –Hillary’s mom - invited family members to come watch, and they all came from as far away as two hours.
Hillary’s team creamed the opposing team by about 15 points, and usually Hillary gets substituted into game in the second quarter, but in this game, she was not allowed to play at all.
Zero. Zip. Not a minute, not two minutes, not 20 seconds. Nada. This was bad enough and then I found out that a couple of other girls, who were seniors, also did not get to play during this game, part of some championship series.
That is ridiculous. I mean, the team was ahead, way ahead, and being able to play in the Oakland Coliseum is a huge deal, an opportunity that comes along rarely – unless you are a professional athlete. What were those coaches thinking? Did they think that they would lose by letting members of their second string play? If they are on the team, they must be decent players.
Those coaches were missing the point of the game. Sure, it’s fun being on a winning team, but those girls who were not allowed to play will always remember that they missed this chance. Years later, it’s not about winning so much as it is about how you play the game, and it is just not fair to leave players on the bench the entire game – that is not a good way to play the game. If the coaches were worried about winning, they chould have substituted during the second or third quarters or figured some way to let all have that once-in-a-lifetime chance.
In the end, those coaches are taking the love of the game out of those girls who were not allowed to play. Sure, they celebrated, sure they were happy to win, but deep down, I am sure they were thinking and wondering, what is wrong with me? I am sure they felt out of it. I am sure they felt not a part of the team. Because playing makes you part of the team. Those coaches missed the point and did those girls wrong.
I say – Let the girl play ball!

-- Cornelia Seigneur
www.writermom.net