The Playing Juniors conundrum

[Falchoon]

I have just got back from overseas to find my Tuesday basketball team has decided we'd have a season off. A friend of mine thus said would I like to play mixed basketball on a Sunday night? No worries I say, keep the hand in, practice the dribbling, passing and outside shooting. Very low standard, couldn't care less if we won/lost type of affair. Really comes down to who has the tallest girls under the basket anyway(guys not allowed in the key).

So I rock up, the big fellas not playing anymore as it is too frustrating and $300 worth of good behaviour bonds too expensive. Never mind that at 6'6" and 140 kilos he's not exactly suited to the outside game.

So I turn up and it looks like we're playing the Dandenong Primary School team. I start on the bench and ask the parental scorer how old they all are, 17 she says, mates at school. Fair enough I say, better go easy, no pressing on the D, no screens and I'd better stay away from the girls as much as possible lest I kill them.

Now the conundrum with playing juniors is they are taller, quicker, better skilled (I started at 22 y.o.) and jump higher. I could beat them if I wanted too, but a riot with the players parents is not my idea of a Sunday nights entertainment (more Tuesdays )

So there I am getting fouled everytime I bring the ball up, cheap D from behind, basically tackled with 5 seconds left in the first half, the kids are going full ball, the scores are even. I'm starting to get a little frustrated with the level of refereeing so I decide I'll start drawing fouls, dribble round pull up knowing they're coming from behind. No joke a parent accuses me of throwing my head back to try and injure the poor little darling. Keeps going on about it for the rest of the game.

Now no jokes I'm 20kg's overweight with dodgy knees, I certainly didn't jump backwards, merely squared my shoulders to the basket and got mugged, no foul. Said parent says I'm a thug and unhappy that I'm losing to his set of darling cheap D playing kids.

Now the conundrum, that had to be the most relaxed, easy going game of basketball I've ever played in my life- next time do I go out and play hard knowing that parents will be irate anyway or attempt to be the nice mild mannered gentle basketballer that I tried to be?

Or like my mate throw it all away and stick to the golf where I can beat the middle aged parents and still get whacked by the kids?

Said parent encouraged a 15-0 scoring run BTW Unbelievably frustrating.

 

[jod23]

Playing mixed basketball? Your not allowed in the key? Seems boring to me. But I wouldnt hold back. If they are there to play, then I would be too. Girls or no girls.

Besides who wants to be beaten by girls. I would bring my A game and drop a double nickel on their asses!

 

[jerry springer]

I feel your pain Falcoon.

I used to play,ref and coach in my local PCYC league in QLD a few years ago.I would play in my age group(then 17+) and coach a under 12 side and then also ref juniors.

The thing that got me was that all these young kids must of watched NBA Action every saturday morning and thats what they would base their play about.They would rebound the ball then just try and take on the entire opposition (ala shawn Kemp going coast to coast before he got fat)and then miss,get the ball stolen,lose their dribble,they didnt have a clue!

I would get abused by parents who didnt have a clue what a foul was then get angry because I wouldnt let a kid get belted on the way to the hoop.The older kids were worse,even in a slower game the fouling was shocking.It was grab city down low.

Besides the shocking fouling there was the double dribbling,traveling, back-court violations which I would call.I wasnt a hard Ref or anything it just was the plain ignorance of the players and their parents of the game of basketball.I swear half of the players didnt know the rules,i would spend half the game explaining what double-dribbling was.Kids thought it was cool to belt someone driving to the hoop(probably because they saw Knicks play Miami that weekend)and would give themselves "high 5s".I think if each Competition handed out a basic guide to basketball and its rules it could help educate Daddy,Mummy and little Tommy.

When I played it was worse because you would often play against a group of fat old men with bad knees who would thought it was a great laugh to "play" basketball once a week after work.I use the the term play loosely)I have played a lot of sport (Footy,Rugby League etc)but I have always thought that Basketball is the most easy way to cop a cheap shot or injury espicially in the paint.

In answer to your dilemma though, I say F**k them,If they want to be dirty little B.astrds hit them back harder just do it tactfully

 

[Falchoon]

Originally posted by jerry springer


When I played it was worse because you would often play against a group of fat old men with bad knees who would thought it was a great laugh to "play" basketball once a week after work.

err, you had me going right until then

 

[jerry springer]

Originally posted by Falchoon
err, you had me going right until then

 

[Falchoon]

Originally posted by jerry springer

well that's what the 17 year olds would see

"a group of fat old men with bad knees who would thought it was a great laugh to "play" basketball once a week after work."

That's us

 

[jerry springer]

dont I feel like a prick now

what a shi.t day -spurs get beaten
- car gets broken into
- holiday over
- cant work out the latest matrix movie

please accept my apology,no offence meant.

 

[Falchoon]

none taken

 

[jod23]

Played an old team earlier tonight and beat them comfortably. Just run the floor...they soon get tired.