A few weeks back, my close friend was putting on a large division 3 tournament. The tournament was a major success outside of one unfortunate situation with a coach that made a really bad decision. Unfortunately, one bad decision by an adult that should have known better cost the kids a win.
The championship game went fine, with a final score of 2-1. The only problem is, the team that won decided to bring two guest players onto the team from another team from the same club that had already been eliminated. The obvious problem was, guest players were not allowed, and the coach knew it. Even worse, the team was from the home club putting on the very tournament!
The opposing coach didn’t bring it up before the game, and only brought it up to tournament staff after the game was played. Admittedly, the coach could have brought it up beforehand, but probably figured no big deal since the teams had played previously to a very lopsided score the other way. It really didn’t matter because the other coach created the entire situation. As it played out, it appears the two guest players may have made the difference. What a perfect entry for the Ugly Truth category!
Luckily my friend is an experienced tournament director, and decided to act quick and award the 1st place trophies to the losing team, and disqualified the other team. A fair decision, but once the integrity of the game is called into question, does it matter who wins? The coach that set in motion this turn of events showed very poor decision making and sportsmanship, and set a horrible example for his players, who wondered why they had won the game, yet come in second. The simple answer is, because the adults ruined it.
Outside of the initial punishment of finishing in second, what do you think should happen to this coach? I thought, given our subscribership to the newsletter, this would be a good chance to hear what you all think, and I will gladly forward the most insightful responses to the committee that will decide the punishment. Keep in mind, this person knew they were breaking the rules, and holds a high level coaching position within the club.
