Don Bosco high school completed what any team would love to on Saturday by winning the NJSIAA Non-Public A championship and thus capping off a perfect 33-0 season. I’d only became aware of their story when they were 28-0 and team members were being interviewed on the local news one night. What stood out though wasn’t the usual clichés you hear when a mic is shoved in an athlete’s face during a streak like that: “We’re just taking it one game at a time,” “Guys really stepped up today,” or “The team came to play.” One player comment in particular did:“If we don’t win a championship, then the season will be a waste.”
Yes a championship caps off a perfect season and not winning one can be seen as failure. Problem is it’s an attitude you expect from the Yankees, Pats or 1972 Dolphins. But when did winning 28 games straight in high school become such a bad thing?
Having coached a fair share of youth sports, Sprite’s Image is Nothing attitude is a pipe dream. There’s high school programs with summer travel teams so
It’s fun watching middle school hoops players chest thump after making a three, or coming up after a hard tackle in soccer, then going nose to nose with the offender asking the other player if they want a piece, forcing the ref to step in. Forget the glares and stares, how about the parents who threaten to pull their kid off the team if he doesn’t get more playing time. Berate the refs after every play? Icing on the cake. Maybe sign a petition to get the coach removed.
Yeah, with all that, it’s easy to see how 28-1 could suck.
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