Time to tame preferential treatment and sticking to the schedule

Having flexibility in a schedule is good sometimes allowing room to navigate unforeseen things that happen in the hectic school schedules. These unforeseen events like SAT tests, field and weather conditions, travel difficulties etc…, throws a monkey wrench into the schedule. However, when you have the powers to be finagling the schedule to accommodate a few individual players is this preferential treatment?

Currently, when they switched the girl’s basketball and girl’s softball seasons it eliminated dual participation by girls that played basketball and soccer because the seasons ran concurrently. Most schools now have policies forbidding the participation in both sports due to risk of injury, practice conflicts and traveling challenges.

However, some BIIF schools have rearranged the set BIIF Girls Soccer schedule to accommodate several players who are trying to play both sports. In other words having their cake and eating it too.

However, some BIIF schools have rearranged the set BIIF Girls Soccer schedule to accommodate several players who are trying to play both sports. In other words having their cake and eating it too. Some have claimed that these talented players contribute to the chance of success to both the girl’s soccer and girl’s basketball teams. Two games schedules this week have been changed due to this situation. Is this fair for everyone involved? What is it teaching our Kid’s?

Is it wrong to change the schedule so these players can be at two venues on the same day? Schedules were made to be adhered to. Schedules teaches students time management, to work through, to make tough choices. Sports schedules also ensure that every team faces the same environments; time of day, practice hardships, traveling on the road, etc.. . In other words schedules are there to ensure uniformity for everyone and no one has an apparent advantage or disadvantage.

The late Ken Yamase quoted when they changed the basketball and softball seasons; “you have to choose.” (basketball or Soccer in girls BIIF)(Baseball or Volleyball in boys BIIF) In other words, you can't play both, you have to make a decision on what sport you want to play.

What are we teaching our kids when you can manipulate the schedule to accommodate yourselves? You can’t do this in real life in most instances. You have to make hard choices.

There is also the issue of practice. Is it fair for talented players to be excused in team practices because they are at another sport practice? Or worse, changing the original practice schedule to accommodate these players because they want to be at both practices to ensure major playing time? When they do this a whole team now must change their original practice schedule to accommodate these players. Not to mention the player's parents, who now have to change their schedules.

The BIIF, coaches and AD's must not tolerate the manipulation of the schedule (circumstances) and condone it. We must stop promoting winning is more important, discourage preferential treatment to change an uncomfortable circumstance in the schedule to an advantage.

Time for the BIIF to teach our students the value of sticking to the schedule, because it is fair and uniform for everyone, to work with what has been fairly dealt. Students will have to make hard decisions, and sometimes being absent and taking a forfeit will endeavor the heart to endure rather than a perpetual feeling that everything can be overcome by requesting for a preferential favor.