RESPECT, COMPETITION CREATE GOOD RIVALRIES.Byline: Gary Washburn They didn't save all the good stuff for the final week. Kennedy plays at Taft tonight; Newbury Park travels to Westlake. These are the good rivalries, with coaches who have made them so. There will be electricity on the field, the kind you can almost see. Every play is important: the opening kickoff, the first play from scrimmage A play from scrimmage is the activity of the games of Canadian football and American football during which one team tries to advance the ball or to score, and the other team tries to stop them or take the ball away. , a second-quarter punt, the first touchdown, the last touchdown. It can take your breath away. It's what every high school game should be about but isn't. That's why rivalries are special. These rivalries originate from respect. There are a lot games mistaken for rivalries. Trash talk trash talk n. Disparaging, often insulting or vulgar speech about another person or group. , anger and cheap shots don't qualify as characteristics of rivalries. Too many high school coaches take the game and themselves too seriously and then spill their hatred onto players, and then call that intensity. Newbury Park coach George Hurley George Hurley (born September 4 1958 in Brockton, Massachusetts) is a drummer noted for his work with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Hurley's powerful style brought a sense of musicianship to the genre, paving the way for new possibilities in underground music. admits he's not close friends with Westlake's Jim Benkert, but the two share mutual respect. Taft coach Troy Starr admires Kennedy's Bob Francola as a coach, and the veteran Francola appreciates Starr as a budding budding, type of grafting in which a plant bud is inserted under the bark of the stock (usually not more than a year old). It is best done when the bark will peel easily and the buds are mature, as in spring, late summer, or early autumn. young coach. ``It's good for the City to have guys like Starr,'' Francola said. ``That shows he's willing to deal with some problems that other coaches in other sections have no idea of. He's built a good program.'' The first step to being a winner is recognizing a winner. To recognize that another coach can build the same type of winning, competitive program you have is respect. To degrade TO DEGRADE, DEGRADING. To, sink or lower a person in the estimation of the public. 2. As a man's character is of great importance to him, and it is his interest to retain the good opinion of all mankind, when he is a witness, he cannot be compelled to disclose that program because it competes is jealousy. Jealousy does not build a positive rivalry. An athlete who respects his or her opponent without criticism is one who enters the playing field with no insecurities. The first action of an insecure in·se·cure adj. 1. Lacking emotional stability; not well-adjusted. 2. Lacking self-confidence; plagued by anxiety. in person is to attack another. This is rampant among coaches and does not promote a winning attitude. There's a saying that a team represents its coach in personality. A successful coach doesn't always have to win, but it does have to play with class and dignity. This is what rivalries are all about. These coaches have brought their programs to the level of championship contenders and the winners of these big games will never forget it. Winners don't always win and losers don't always lose. In the long run, winners always persevere per·se·vere intr.v. per·se·vered, per·se·ver·ing, per·se·veres To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement. . That's what friendly competition is all about: wanting to beat your opponent badly and doing whatever it takes to win. But play within your capability - though the archrival arch·ri·val n. A principal rival. might bring out more competitiveness than you ever expected. That's what makes alumni come out and ex-players wear their letterman jackets. It's what makes cheerleaders Notable cheerleaders
The rivalry, in its purest form, brings out the best in all of us. Now do you see why I'm excited? |
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