Two questions: Since when is 8th grade high school (since the topic is hs sports) ? If your kid isn't playing, why the hell are you so interested in 8th grade basketball ( no one outside of parents and grandparents give a shit about middle school sports) ?
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you aren't a person with "no skin in the program" , and that the kid you are invested in isn't very good. Therefore, in your mind, it's all politics. I've been hearing this stupid shit for forty years - even from the fans of teams who are winning championships. They all have the same things in common; none of them attends practice every day and none of them runs the risk of getting fired if the team doesn't win.
Happy new year. Your limb just broke.
to answer your questions … my kid was in elementary and I wanted to get a handle on how the school politics worked … because they are almost ALWAYS going on … so my family bought the all school sports family pass every year and we lived pretty close to the school. We went and watched many many middle school games over the years … what I saw was almost always dads coaching their kids and their kid’s buddies … my family is a bunch of basketball junkies so going to games is what we did back then (older kids now so doesn’t allow for as much free time).
So, you’re absolutely wrong about who cares (or used to care) about middle school ball. This is Indiana, people here used to care about the game and support their school, regardless of age group. I went to a 5A varsity game a few years back, pre-Covid, and the only people there were the players parents. And the team wasn’t bad. Times are a changing. People are more selfish every day.
Next point, and not that it matters, but here goes. my kids are better then the average kid their age. Much better. I’ll leave it at that. Anything more will sound like bragging. I knew school/daddy politics were real and told them the only way to guarantee floor time is to be so much better then everyone else the coach has no choice but to play you. They took it to heart and found joy in the game. Being good at the game was happy coincidence.
My boys play in a semi-small puddle of competition … we could afford a bigger school, but athletics aren’t as important as environment and education. I say this to tell you that I’m not some disgruntled parent … my boys get more then their fair share of playing time (they rarely come out unless it’s a blow out or they need a breather). For good or bad, I’m one who has seen the dark under belly of youth sports. Parents who can’t say no to their kids, which is the society that we now live in. Parents who kiss up to varsity coaches in hopes of weaseling a spot for their kid. Parents who want to coddle their kids and not allow them to fail … parents that don’t allow their kids to figure out that hard work is more important then someone there to put a pillow under your rear every time to fall.
So, you are pretty much wrong about everything you typed. You are likely one of those that have participated in or took advantage of buddy ball and politics in the past and have to die on your sword that these things don’t happen and it isn’t a real thing. I hate to peg you that way, but experience tells me the ones who staunchly deny it are typically the perpetrators. Anybody with a brain knows better then to say daddy/buddy ball and school politics don’t happen. FYI, coaches in puddles dont get fired when they pull this garbage (no matter how much they lose), because there are very few adults who are willing to put the time in for the pennies they get paid. Therefore, many of the guys nowadays who do step into the spot typically are spineless when it involves their kids or their kid’s friends. And it’s getting worse each year. Makes sense though, caring for ALL the kids is a lost ethic in the current age.
