Cheating in high school sports

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I know kids who want to be on a team -- perhaps to look good for scholarships, whatever -- but they don't really like to run. XC is seen as an "easy sport" because it has a short season; many people see it as "preparation" for the real track season, which doesn't come 'til spring. Anyway, some kids'll start the race with the group . . . then once the majority passes them, they'll just stop running and walk back to the finish unobtrusively. Of course, they can't really fake winning . . . but they're essentially faking being on the team.

Honestly, I've never, ever seen this. XC is a tough sport--you run in sleet, up and down mountains, if you throw up, you keep going--it can be brutal. I do agree that some people seem to be on the team because there rarely are cuts, so they can have a sport on their resume. But I've never seen or heard of anyone walking back to the finish line. And I can't imagine a coach tolerating it. Not to mention, I know when DD14 is in prime XC training mode, she's running 50 miles a week. A typical varsity practice is 5-6 miles a day, sometimes more. One of their mottos is "On the 7th day, God did an easy three", because that's what a day off means to a XC kid. Really, if I were looking to add a sport to my resume, jsut to have one, I'd be the world's slowest sprinter. Or worst long jumper, or a great bench-warmer--anything but running through the mud!

 

[disfan07]

we dealt with this a few years ago with high school football.

One of the schools teams got suspended for steroid use.
One school was paying off the refs
One school was playing students who were not eligible because they were failing a class(es)

IMO, high school spports have gotten out of hand

 

[MiniGirl]

How well does your dd's coach know the coach of this other team? Is it possible that the team envoked this new cheating policy without the coach's knowledge? I think my first move should be to have your team's coach talk to the other team's coach about it. I wouldn't do in an accusatory fashion. I think if the other coach is left with a gracious "out" so he can save face, he would talk to his team about it -- especially if he feels the matter will be taken to a higher authority if it isn't handled quickly.

When I played high school golf, there was a person from the tournament that stayed with each foursome. Looking back I can't say if it was a volunteer or a paid official. They were there in an official capcity though. They rode around in a cart so they could quickly move between players.

 

[MrsPete]

Honestly, I've never, ever seen this. XC is a tough sport--you run in sleet, up and down mountains, if you throw up, you keep going--it can be brutal. I do agree that some people seem to be on the team because there rarely are cuts, so they can have a sport on their resume. But I've never seen or heard of anyone walking back to the finish line. And I can't imagine a coach tolerating it. Not to mention, I know when DD14 is in prime XC training mode, she's running 50 miles a week. A typical varsity practice is 5-6 miles a day, sometimes more. One of their mottos is "On the 7th day, God did an easy three", because that's what a day off means to a XC kid. Really, if I were looking to add a sport to my resume, jsut to have one, I'd be the world's slowest sprinter. Or worst long jumper, or a great bench-warmer--anything but running through the mud!

Maybe it's different in other schools, but I know that our coach was MAD about kids just stopping running and leisurely strolling or even coming back to the starting place around the time the serious runners were reaching the finish line. In our school, one big problem is that the coach is required to run 5 girls . . . and he only has six girls . . . so essentially he cannot cut any of them. Don't get me wrong: Some of the kids take it VERY seriously, but every year they have a couple goof-offs.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Maybe part of the difference is a much larger school (1700 kids), with 29 girls on XC last fall. And our coach HAS cut kids in the past. I could see where a smaller school/team wouldn't have that luxury.

I think it's a darn shame that anyone would cheat or slack at a sport. There's a lot to learn about life when you do sports. Another nice XC quote about getting a PR (personal record)--"Winning isn't always victory, losing isn't always defeat."