When Is A Blowout Bad?

So this post can relate to practically any sport in existence, and at almost any level.  It's not as much of a problem in professional levels, but its a huge debate-starter in youth sports.

How high should you run up the score?

In sport, generally you play to the best of your skill level, and the opponent does the same.  Typically, the score reflects the effort level, skill level, and execution level of the team on that given day.  A great team who doesn't try will suffer, and a mediocre team that tries hard and does all the right things will have their way eventually.

So essentially, by losing, the losing team knows that it wasn't on par with the winning team, in either one or all of those aspects.  Its a good indicator of the level your team is at.  If you didn't try hard, you don't win.  If you make mistakes, you don't win.  If you tried hard and played flawlessly, and lost, then you're skills weren't enough.  That is what training and practice is for.

It sucks to lose, I know that.  And it really sucks to be on a team that loses more than it wins.  But there's a reason behind it, and its either one or all of those three things mentioned above.

So if we "sugarcoat" the loss, to make it seem less bad, then we "sugarcoat" how much work needs to be done for the team to succeed.  If you don't practice and train to be at the level you want, then you simply wont reach that level.  And if you have a false estimate at where your team is at, and you train as such, then you wont be competitive.

All this blabbering, and I haven't really said the point yet.

I'm just going to go ahead and say it, since anti-sugarcoating is the theme here:  In team sports, its okay to get shit-kicked.

There, I said it.

In sports, there is a winner, and there is a loser.  Generally, the score doesn't mean a whole lot at the end of the day, but there is always a winner and a loser.  If you aren't prepared to lose, then you aren't prepared to win.  Losses will train you to learn and improve, and sometimes the score is an indicator of how much work is needed.  If you can't handle that form of critique, than sports aren't for you.  The governing bodies are not going to change the rules so that both teams are winners.  That would be stupid, and against the whole purpose of sport.

And at any rate, what sounds worse? A) We got our asses kicked.  or B) We had a close game against a team that went easy on us.  Well, its really a toss up of what sounds better or worse, but at least A) is helpful in some way.

Is there a line of sportsmanship? Certainly.  Celebrating goals towards the end of a 14-0 game is over the line (guilty as charged).  Thats bad for the sport, bad for your team because you looking like scumbags, and bad for the other team because it makes them feel worse.  But if you keep playing hard to get that 15th goal, you give them the respect that they're a worthy opponent, to be taken seriously.

 Is it a good time to maybe work on more plays and tweak some skills instead of going right for the goal? Sure.  It helps your team out, and they get practice for other techniques as well.  As long as its still with the goal in mind to get the puck in the net, or equivalent.

Mercy Rules, or coaches with different philosophies than mine, teach players that it's not okay to give it 100% of your effort all of the time.  That teaches terrible habits that will harm the player in not just sports, but other life skills.  Conversely, players who are in the wrong-end of a blowout that is allowed to go on is taught that: if there is a problem, it doesn't just go away, you have to keep fighting to try to make it right, or give it all of your effort to try.

Maybe I'm just hardball, but I agree with the cliche that "losing builds character".  Although, I'd clarify by saying "losing teaches lessons", but that doesn't roll off the tongue as well.  If you win, theres a reason.  If you lose, theres a reason.  If you get an A+, theres a reason.  If you go to jail, theres a reason.  If you can afford a car, theres a reason.  If you get fired, theres a reason.  If you learn the reasons why things happen, you can learn better for next time. If you alter the results of the games for the sake of hurt-feelings, then no one is really going to learn a lesson from what happened, and it will happen again.

And last point, it is just a game.  If you can't handle the score, you can't handle the game.