The 100-0 Blowout
You probably have heard of this one: the coach who ran up a 100-0 score against a school for disabled girls, who then got fired for what he had done.
The reality, as it often is, is not the same as the media would like it to be.
This is the statement from the coach:
The Team. We are hardly the “elite basketball powerhouse” that we are described as in the National and local media. Up until 3 years ago, we rarely had a winning season. In fact, during my first year at Covenant four years ago, we experienced one of our worst seasons - a losing record of only 2 wins and 19 losses that sunk to an 82-6 low in a game that forever changed us and how we approached the game of basketball. Two years later we made the first Final Four appearance in the school’s history. Like Dallas Academy, Covenant is a small Christian school, which is why we are in the same district. We don’t have a home gym so we rent out facilities or gym space in the community so we can practice, and then watch game film at the home of one of the players. We’ve never had a full roster. Only about 30 high school girls attend Covenant and only 8 of those girls play basketball. During many of the games this year, we played with 6 girls, and sometimes only 5. When players fouled out, we’ve had to finish the game with 4. But we always finished the game.
The Game. The game started like any other high school basketball game across the nation. The teams warm-up, coaches talk, the ball is tipped, and then the play begins. We started the game off with a full-court press. After 3 minutes into play, we had already reached a 25-0 lead. Like any rational thinking coach would do, I immediately stopped the full-court press, dropped into a 2-3 zone defense, and started subbing in my 3 bench players. This strategy continued for the rest of the game and allowed the Dallas Academy players to get the ball up the court for a chance to score. The second half started with a score of 59-0. Seeing that we would win by too wide of a margin, running down the clock was the only logical course of action left. Contrary to the articles, there were only a total of four 3-point baskets made; three in the first quarter, and only one in the third quarter. I continued to sub in bench players, play zone defense, and run the clock for the rest of the game. We played fair and honorably within the rules and in the presence of the parents, coaches, and athletic directors for both Covenant School and Dallas Academy.
There is actually a rule in the schools league which allows a team to throw in the towel in the case of a blowout: Dallas Academy made the decision to keep fighting on, even though they were losing. The real failure here is the administrators of the Covenant School who tried to save face by firing the coach once the story was picked up in the national media. Weak.
Granted, if I were the coach, I would have started pulling players, playing a man down (if it were allowed), telling people they could only shoot 3's, etc etc. in an effort to lessen the blowout. At the same time, if the coach is guilty of anything, it is being overly competitive, and I would not fire a coach for that, much less make a national hulabaloo about it.
The only reason it made the national news is because the other girls were "disabled." Hardly. It is a school for girls with ADHD and dyslexia. I would be hard pressed to come up with two disabilities less related to sports in any way whatsoever.
The reality, as it often is, is not the same as the media would like it to be.
This is the statement from the coach:
The Team. We are hardly the “elite basketball powerhouse” that we are described as in the National and local media. Up until 3 years ago, we rarely had a winning season. In fact, during my first year at Covenant four years ago, we experienced one of our worst seasons - a losing record of only 2 wins and 19 losses that sunk to an 82-6 low in a game that forever changed us and how we approached the game of basketball. Two years later we made the first Final Four appearance in the school’s history. Like Dallas Academy, Covenant is a small Christian school, which is why we are in the same district. We don’t have a home gym so we rent out facilities or gym space in the community so we can practice, and then watch game film at the home of one of the players. We’ve never had a full roster. Only about 30 high school girls attend Covenant and only 8 of those girls play basketball. During many of the games this year, we played with 6 girls, and sometimes only 5. When players fouled out, we’ve had to finish the game with 4. But we always finished the game.
The Game. The game started like any other high school basketball game across the nation. The teams warm-up, coaches talk, the ball is tipped, and then the play begins. We started the game off with a full-court press. After 3 minutes into play, we had already reached a 25-0 lead. Like any rational thinking coach would do, I immediately stopped the full-court press, dropped into a 2-3 zone defense, and started subbing in my 3 bench players. This strategy continued for the rest of the game and allowed the Dallas Academy players to get the ball up the court for a chance to score. The second half started with a score of 59-0. Seeing that we would win by too wide of a margin, running down the clock was the only logical course of action left. Contrary to the articles, there were only a total of four 3-point baskets made; three in the first quarter, and only one in the third quarter. I continued to sub in bench players, play zone defense, and run the clock for the rest of the game. We played fair and honorably within the rules and in the presence of the parents, coaches, and athletic directors for both Covenant School and Dallas Academy.
There is actually a rule in the schools league which allows a team to throw in the towel in the case of a blowout: Dallas Academy made the decision to keep fighting on, even though they were losing. The real failure here is the administrators of the Covenant School who tried to save face by firing the coach once the story was picked up in the national media. Weak.
Granted, if I were the coach, I would have started pulling players, playing a man down (if it were allowed), telling people they could only shoot 3's, etc etc. in an effort to lessen the blowout. At the same time, if the coach is guilty of anything, it is being overly competitive, and I would not fire a coach for that, much less make a national hulabaloo about it.
The only reason it made the national news is because the other girls were "disabled." Hardly. It is a school for girls with ADHD and dyslexia. I would be hard pressed to come up with two disabilities less related to sports in any way whatsoever.
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