Softball team forfeits game to teach opponents how to play

[speg]

Winning team *offers* to forfeit game and teaches opponents how to play

We have so many things to worry about right now, I figure we can stand a little good news, right? Whenever I read a story like this column by Rick Reilly, it makes me feel a lot less hopeless about humanity:

We live in a world where Peyton Manning walks off the Super Bowl field without shaking anybody's hand. Where Tiger Woods leaves the Masters without a word of thanks to the fans or congratulations to the winner. Where NFL lineman Albert Haynesworth kicks a man's helmetless head without a thought.

So if you think sportsmanship is toast, this next story is an all-you-can-eat buffet to a starving man.

It happened at a junior varsity girls' softball game in Indianapolis this spring. After an inning and a half, Roncalli was womanhandling inner-city Marshall Community. Marshall pitchers had already walked nine Roncalli batters. The game could've been 50-0 with no problem.

Yes, a team that hadn't lost a game in 2½ years, a team that was going to win in a landslide purposely offered to declare defeat. Why? Because Roncalli wanted to spend the two hours teaching the Marshall girls how to get better, not how to get humiliated.

It's no wonder. This was the first softball game in Marshall history. A middle school trying to move up to include grades 6 through 12, Marshall showed up to the game with five balls, two bats, no helmets, no sliding pads, no cleats, 16 players who'd never played before, and a coach who'd never even seen a game.

One Marshall player asked, "Which one is first base?" Another: "How do I hold this bat?" They didn't know where to stand in the batter's box. Their coaches had to be shown where the first- and third-base coaching boxes were.

That's when Roncalli did something crazy. It offered to forfeit.

Yes, a team that hadn't lost a game in 2½ years, a team that was going to win in a landslide purposely offered to declare defeat. Why? Because Roncalli wanted to spend the two hours teaching the Marshall girls how to get better, not how to get humiliated.

"The Marshall players did NOT want to quit," wrote Roncalli JV coach Jeff Traylor, in recalling the incident. "They were willing to lose 100 to 0 if it meant they finished their first game." But the Marshall players finally decided if Roncalli was willing to forfeit for them, they should do it for themselves. They decided that maybe -- this one time -- losing was actually winning.

That's about when the weirdest scene broke out all over the field: Roncalli kids teaching Marshall kids the right batting stance, throwing them soft-toss in the outfield, teaching them how to play catch. They showed them how to put on catching gear, how to pitch, and how to run the bases. Even the umps stuck around to watch.

"One at a time the Marshall girls would come in to hit off of the [Roncalli] pitchers," Traylor recalled. "As they hit the ball their faces LIT UP! They were high fiving and hugging the girls from Roncalli, thanking them for teaching to them the game."

This is the kind of thing that can backfire with teenagers -- the rich kids taking pity on the inner-city kids kind of thing. Traylor was afraid of it, too.

"One wrong attitude, one babying approach from our players would shut down the Marshall team, who already were down," wrote Traylor. "But our girls made me as proud as I have ever been. ... [By the end], you could tell they were having a blast. The change from the beginning of the game to the end of the practice was amazing."

Roncalli wasn't done. Traylor asked all the parents of his players and anybody else he knew for more help for Marshall -- used bats, gloves, helmets, money for cleats, gloves, sliders, socks and team shirts. They came up with $2,500 and worked with Marshall on the best way to help the program with that money. Roncalli also connected Marshall with former Bishop Chatard coach Kim Wright, who will advise the program.

"We probably got to some things 10 years quicker than we would have had without Roncalli," says Marshall principal Michael Sullivan.

And that was just the appetizer. A rep from Reebok called Sullivan and said, "What do you need? We'll get it for you." A man who owns an indoor batting cage facility has offered free time in the winter. The Cincinnati Reds are donating good dirt for the new field Marshall will play on.

"This could've been a thing where our kids had too much pride," says Sullivan. "You know, 'I'm not going to listen to anybody.' But our kids are really thirsty to learn."

And they are. Marshall never won a game, but actually had leads in its last three games. In fact, it went so well, the players and their parents asked if they could extend the season, so they're looking to play AAU summer softball.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5218228

 

[Blackjack200]

This is why women can't excel at sports. If this was men the good team would still be on the field beating the brains out of the bad team.

NO MERCY.

 

[ProfJohn]

Nice story.

I think good sportsmanship happen far more often than bad, we just don't see it as often or notice it as much.

 

[smitbret]

This isn't sportsmanship. It's a nice gesture but it tarnishes the nature of competitive sports. The obviously better team takes an automatic "L"? That's not right, either.

 

[Bignate603]

This isn't sportsmanship. It's a nice gesture but it tarnishes the nature of competitive sports. The obviously better team takes an automatic "L"? That's not right, either.

Yes, because everyone knows the point of competitive sports is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

 

[alexjohnson16]

The competitive nature of sports at this level is getting out of control. Covering high school sports for a newspaper, I get to see it first hand. This is a tremendous story. Kudos to those who participated in this.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Yes, because everyone knows the point of competitive sports is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

heh well said.

 

[WT]

Kinda like ancient Aztec soccer game - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_ballgame

 

[mugs]

This isn't sportsmanship. It's a nice gesture but it tarnishes the nature of competitive sports. The obviously better team takes an automatic "L"? That's not right, either.

Doesn't sound like the better team actually had to forfeit - when they offered to forfeit, the losing team decided that they would forfeit instead.

Also, it's a JV team. At least where I went to school, JV games were all essentially just exhibition games. There were no league standings, no tournament, etc for JV. The intent of JV sports is to give you the opportunity to improve until you're able to play on the Varsity team. Playing against a team that didn't know how to play softball wasn't going to help them do that.

 

[dmw16]

I don't mean to sound cynical, but how can the school show up with zero idea how to even play softball? I really don't get how this could actually happen.

 

[cronos]

What I don't get is why link to the blog? It's an article by Rick Reilly at ESPN and the blog quote it as a whole.

The actual link is here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5218228


Oh and the title of this thread is misleading. As Mugs said, they did offer to forfeit, but it's the losing team who ended up forfeiting.

 

[Mucho]

I think they were being patronizing rather than sportsmanlike.

 

[Spacehead]

I don't mean to sound cynical, but how can the school show up with zero idea how to even play softball? I really don't get how this could actually happen.

I was going to post basically the same thing.

 

[Bignate603]

I don't mean to sound cynical, but how can the school show up with zero idea how to even play softball? I really don't get how this could actually happen.

The school may have just started their team and didn't have the resources to get a coach that had much experience. They might know the basic rules but that doesn't mean they have any clue how to really play. Every team has to start some time and if you don't have somebody that's done it before it can be pretty rough.

 

[Ruptga]

I think they were being patronizing rather than sportsmanlike.

I know if I were on the losing team, I would be almost as pissed at the winning team for doing that as I would be at my coaches and the administration (and myself) for being so goddamn incompetent. But then again I'm male and women think differently.

 

[Ruptga]

The school may have just started their team and didn't have the resources to get a coach that had much experience. They might know the basic rules but that doesn't mean they have any clue how to really play. Every team has to start some time and if you don't have somebody that's done it before it can be pretty rough.

Yeah but to not know how to hold the bat? Really? Surely they had a few practices before this game.

 

[gorcorps]

This isn't sportsmanship. It's a nice gesture but it tarnishes the nature of competitive sports. The obviously better team takes an automatic "L"? That's not right, either.

The better team didn't take the L, they were going to take the L and teach the other girls but when the other team saw that they were willing to do that, they did the right thing and took the L themselves. The title of the thread is wrong.

 

[rasczak]

:thumbsup:

 

[speg]

What I don't get is why link to the blog? It's an article by Rick Reilly at ESPN and the blog quote it as a whole.

The actual link is here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5218228


Oh and the title of this thread is misleading. As Mugs said, they did offer to forfeit, but it's the losing team who ended up forfeiting.

My bad, it was late when I read/posted I can't fix the title now, but have edited the OP.

I don't mean to sound cynical, but how can the school show up with zero idea how to even play softball? I really don't get how this could actually happen.

They were girls? Little ones at that.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODqjUqW3c0U

It's called sportsmanship. Find some.

 

[sourceninja]

When I was a little kid, we had rules where one team auto lost when the other had a large lead. We won many a game that way.

Seems like a rule like that would better served this situation and still allowed some nice coaching.

 

[swanysto]

Yeah but to not know how to hold the bat? Really? Surely they had a few practices before this game.

From what it looks like it was an inner city team. Softball is not a big activity in the inner city. It really came as no surprise to me. However, the fact that they were willing to take advice, and the other team was willing to help these girls is humanity, not sportsmanship. Touching story though.

 

[fatpat268]

I don't mean to sound cynical, but how can the school show up with zero idea how to even play softball? I really don't get how this could actually happen.

I was going to post basically the same thing.

Heh yea. I mean, there's the internet and all, and you'd think the coach would've done a little research before they throw the players in a game.

While it was a gesture that worked out for the better, it just makes me wonder.

 

[Ns1]

how is this junior varsity if one team doesn't know how to play? wtf is this

 

[waggy]

This isn't sportsmanship. It's a nice gesture but it tarnishes the nature of competitive sports. The obviously better team takes an automatic "L"? That's not right, either.

i have said that when you impose stupid rules like the team whith higher score loses (yes one place has that rule) you do not teach anything.

i would rather get my ass stomped and learn something then force "sportsmanship" (you can't force it.). If you are loseing i want the other team to try (even if they put in 4th string) so that you have a chance to LEARN and get better.

This? was fucking amazing. they did the right thing. they seen a team that had NO CLUE on what they were doing. they took the lose to teach them to be better. that is true sportsmmanship. that is something you just can't force with rules.

at the end of the day the L won't matter and everyone feels better because they helped someone.