I wonder if this coach use to teach karate?

http://digitalderek.typepad.com/sawx...leg_johnny.jpg

I appreciate the gamesmanship but I would not be happy to win that way.

he would not have made that call if she would have missed that final vault, therefore he is a douche

Douche.

The rule sucks. The circumstances suck. Do you think somebody really gains a competitive edge by stepping one foot onto the white line? Do they gain an edge exchanging a baton outside of the exchange zone? There are dozens of rules that suck but they're rules. The coach was within his rights. Would I have done it? I dunno. It's pretty crappy all the way around.

Dammit, I meant to vote for Douchebag, not Letter of the Law.

it's a dumb rule

Not really. Considering kids get their fingers ripped off their hands tangling in bracelets and necklaces during hurdles or jumping events, it's not dumb at all. It's designed for the kids' protection. It's not a new thing either. The rule existed when I ran HS track 20+ years ago.

This. How is a string considered jewelry? The meet officials should have told the coach to STFD and STFU.

The coach is a douche. I doubt he would have called out one of his own players for wearing a string.

I put letter of the law. As a guy who was on a team, I always wanted a coach that would go to battle for us in any way possible.

But, after thinking about it..... I wouldn't want to win that way. I wish I could change my vote.

I guess we are in the minority here MOhillbilly. I agree with you. The girl broke the rules, period. You do not pass Go and you do not collect $200.

In a world where everyone gets a ribbon for trying and juice box no matter how bad you suck, it's kinda nice to see a kid actually learn a life lesson.

I spent a little bit of time struggling with this one before I realized that years of watching my children in youth sports is turning me into a douchebag.
I have little doubt that the majority of the coaches and other sports parents would do this in a heartbeart to get the win... but it really doesn't have to be that way. It's douchebaggery.

As a track coach myself, we overlook this type of stuff all the time. We do however know what coaches are the d-bags and will report it. It is against the rules and he is within his right to call it. He just needs to know that every single one of his athletes will be looked at very closely now. His athletes will not be allowed to tie their shoes incorrectly.

well, okay then. I never played track so I wasn't aware of that. I guess my thoughts on this is that rules are rules, that girls coach should have noticed that and said something or at least read the rule book to all of the players before the season started.

I can see both sides of this coin.
Was it a douche move, absolutely but I imagine that her coach knew about this rule (or at least I would hope so) and should have informed her to remove anything that could possibly be considered jewelry*.
When I used to judge field events I told numerous athlets that they needed to remove jewelry (rings, necklaces, braclets, ear rings, whatever) just to avoid any "douchbaggery" such as this but IT IS still a rule.




*As jewelry is defined as "an ornamental device worn by persons", this fits the definition.