Postgame handshakes can be valuable learning tool
November 10th, 2009 by WesAll 12 head coaches in the Division I and DII football state tournaments will gather at Aloha Stadium this Sunday morning for a mandatory HHSAA meeting. They'll go over HHSAA rules, pregame and postgame procedures, travel arrangements, etc.
Somewhere near the end HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya usually offers a friendly reminder about sportsmanship, and rightfully so, since this is the most high-profile and most well-attended, most-watched high school tournament of them all.
Most coaches, hopefully, already preach the importance of good sportsmanship on a daily basis, but another reminder cannot hurt.
Because we are dealing with 15, 16 and 17-year-old boys in a highly emotional contact sport, and the stakes are at their highest this time of year.
Unfortunately, we saw a brief example of bad sportsmanship following one of the OIA championship games last Friday, when a little trash talk and "What, bruddah, what?!?" apparently took place in the handshake line. It didn't amount to much — there was maybe a little shoving before one of the players was quickly whisked away by teammates.
But it's still disturbing because it happened in front of a large crowd of fans in the Orange section and totally goes against what the postgame handshake is supposed to represent: The game is over, you left it all out on the field and now it is time to win with grace/lose with dignity, and acknowledge your opponent for their effort.
In today's world of omnipresent trash talk, the lesson of win-with-grace/lose-with-dignity is especially important.
So in that sense, the postgame handshake shouldn't be something where kids simply go through the motions because it's something they are forced to do.
It should be a valuable learning tool.
I was very disappointed earlier this season with how much of the media portrayed the LeGarrett Blount-Byron Hout incident following the Boise State-Oregon game. Blount clearly was cast as the sole villain, with words like "sucker punch" being used and replays of the punch and ensuing rage being shown over and over.
Oregon's subsequent punishment of Blount — suspending him for the entire season, his senior year — further supported the notion that he alone should be blamed for the incident. And much of the public, judging from talk shows and reader comments, appeared to buy this notion.
On one local talk show here, Boise State coach Chris Peterson and his players were even praised for how they handled the situation and for running a disciplined program.
Praised? Disciplined?
Wasn't it a Boise player — Hout — who started the whole thing by walking up to Blount from behind, with his fellow Broncos there to back him up, tapping Blount on the shoulder, saying something pertaining to "ass whooping" and then walking away with a smug smile?
And while Blount was suspended for a season putting his NFL draft status in jeopardy, Hout was not even suspended for even a single play?
The media and public portrayed Hout only as the victim, and while the Pac-10 commended Oregon for its swift action on Blount, the WAC stood almost silent and just watched as Boise State allowed Hout to keep playing uninterrupted.
Something's wrong there.
Peterson emphasized that Hout would be disciplined "internally," but this was a public incident that was shown on practically every TV set in the country. It deserved a public punishment, to show especially kids that Hout's behavior was not acceptable.
I saw Peterson on TV immediately approach Hout after his taunt, right before he got punched, obviously ready to scold him. And I also saw on TV another Boise player get totally chewed out on the sideline after he stood in front of a camera and flashed a shaka following a touchdown against UH last month.
So Peterson knows the danger of trash talk.
Hopefully, the 12 state tournament coaches don't underestimate it either, and will do something about it before another incident like last Friday's happens again.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:14 am
good topic wes. can never get too much of this kind of proper behavior from our student-athletes. seems like the athtetes who can compartmentalize their emotions are the ones that will be successful on and off the field. the only thing i've seen lately in high school athletics, unfortunately, is too many coaches and parents not knowing the proper behavior during and after games. yelling at refs, yelling at opposing players shouldn't be part of the high school game. cheer all you like for your team and that's it. aloha
November 12th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I've seen this from some parents too and wonder if they are using these sporting events as opportunities to vent their frustrations about life in general.
Some will make any excuse to yell at the ref, at the top of their lungs. Are they really that mad about just a false start call ... or something else?
I guess it's better than some other forms of venting, but if only they could channel that negative energy into some positive way instead.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Agree w/you on the Boise dude.
You wanna wise off to someone, do it. But you might get cracked.
Takes two to tango. Both guys wrong.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Wes, congrats on your article "Baban". I grew up with George "Whitey" and assume he is related to you cause he is from McGerrow Camp. Your article brings back fond memories cause I also know kopay nakamura. I lived in the camp above McGerrow, near the ball park/swimming pool. Thanks for bringing back great memories.
With warmest aloha,
Whitey
p.so. i can remember almost every family who lived in Young Hee Camp and can tell you which house they lived in. hahahahaaaa
November 14th, 2009 at 8:15 am
All these parents yelling at refs and going all gung-ho at the games attend every single one their kid plays in. They make sure they're there. But try getting them in to the school for a parent-teacher conference after the football season is over because their kid could give a rat's ass about school afterwards. Watch the excuses fly. "Oh, I'm sick. "I working today - no can." "Oh, it's the teacher's fault anyway." "Oh, I just talk to him at home. No need come in, yeah?"
Hahahaha. Losers. Football is life for many of them. Who cares about education, right? No wonder they end up on welfare.
November 15th, 2009 at 6:25 am
i understand the frustration a lot of coaches & teachers go through in dealing with these kinds of un-sportsman-like behavior & attitude...however, i still say these are the "vocal minority" & most parents & players demonstrate good sportsmanship & are very supportive towards the coaches & teachers...
November 19th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I think coaches and athletic director's have a responsibility to make sure that things like this don't happen. To watch Aiea's football players go through the line just walking pass the Moanalua players and not wanting to even lift their hands up was very disappointing. (By the way I viewed this on OC16, not at the game). I'm an Aiea supporter and I felt shame...I also saw bad behavior at the OIA Volleyball playoffs from a Moanalua player. What are the ramifications...usually nothing. Coaches and athletic directors are so caught up in winning that the discipline gets thrown out the window. So they'll talk to the players and send them back out to play. Big deal, they don't learn that what they did was wrong. Maybe suspensions are the only way to make these players realize the severity of it all. They need to be good athletes before, during and after the game. Be community leaders and examples, after all there are alot of little kids out there watching and wanting to be like these athletes. Wake up coaches, teach life lessons about sportsmanship and respect.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
The difference between Hout and LeGarret Blount is that Hout did not punch a player and then go on a rampage by charging the fans. As his fellow teammates and coaches attempted to pull him away from the stands, Blount actually ended up fighting against them also. Sure, Hout should not have trash talked (even though in one sense, Blount was getting his just desserts by trash talking the week leading up before the game) but I don't think that Hout's behavior warranted a suspension any more than Craig Stutzman's punting the ball in the endzone during the beatdown UH gave BYU would merit a suspension.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Stutzmann was ejected from the game; Hout did not miss any game action at all.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:44 am
II: It's pretty common to talk trash leading up, right before, and even during the game. After its all settled on the field and the game is over, you leave the trash talk there, you don't go whoopin' it up to the opposing player when the game is over after both teams are shaking hands, congratulating each other, walking back to the locker rooms etc.etc. I mean this is not even a rivalry game. IMO, Hout got what he deserved; he got in Blounts face hit his shoulder pad and talked smacked and then got dropped. Right before he got decked you can see Coach Peterson about to chew Hout's a** out for his taunting.
Regarding the incident with the Boise fans, ESPN had a clip of it on YouTube (sorry i don't have the link) but if you watch closely like the commentator for ESPN was saying you can see one of the Boise fans drop the N word on Blount and that what set that off, watch it and the fans are laughing and taunting him when he go's after them, can you imagine if that happened to UH player at Aloha Stadium, Boise players, coaches and fans would need a police escort to get out of Hawaii!
November 21st, 2009 at 6:36 am
As I recall from my days in the Leilehua cheering section, all the violent post-game frustrations are usually manifested as rocks thrown at the band bus, LOL.