The Wrong Message

Apparently it's OK in Michigan to teach high schoolers that when the going gets tough, just quit:

Despite pleas from players and parents, the Oscoda Board of Education on Monday upheld the cancellation of the varsity football season after four games.

The school board in this northern Iosco County district sided with coaches who said the condition of the varsity team was ''dangerously unsafe'' to continue playing.

''When you go to a game on Friday night and see a team physically dominated, those are the indisputable facts,'' said Kyle Tobin, head coach of the team.

Tobin said Oscoda's team wasn't physically competitive, had too few players and faced a grueling schedule in the North East Michigan Conference against teams such as Bangor John Glenn High School and Ogemaw Heights High School.

Yet players such as quarterback Mike Gondek pleaded with the school board to reconsider the school's Sept. 19 decision to cancel the remaining varsity football games.

''All I ever wanted to do was play football,'' said Gondek, a senior. ''My teammates never felt so unsafe that we didn't want to be out there.''

The team went 0-4 this season, without scoring a point.

What an awful message this sends; if things get tight, don't go out and try your best. Just walk away. I am just amazed at how people could send such an awful message, though I shouldn't be given the fact that competition among children is something that is not being discouraged so nobody's feelings get hurt (never mind the fact that competition is part of everyday life).

At least this guy gets it:

But Lansing-area schools that have suffered through losing streaks say Oscoda Area High School's decision to throw in the towel sends the wrong message.

"The message you're telling the kids is that when it gets tough, you're giving up," said Eaton Rapids football coach Randy Taylor, whose team went 0-9 last season. "You're giving up on the kids."

And is that the message you want to send? That you have no faith in these kids who want to play football?

Are there mitigating circumstances? Sure; injuries, small rosters, etc. However what would have happened had anybody who ever faced a tough circumstance quit?

Education officials really need to consider the message we send these students. We cannot have them be given the impression that it is OK to quit. It may be the football field today, but it could be the classroom tomorrow.