We Take High School Football A Tad Too Seriously

Most people probably realize that many folks take youth sports far too seriously these days. It's not enough to, you know, have fun. Daddy wants little Johnny to be the best, so he does whatever he can to make that possible. Whether it's belittling the official, belittling little Johnny, hiring personal trainers and so on, the fun can get sucked out of sports awfully quickly. So it is that we share a couple stories found around the interwebs concerning this very topic.

- A report in USA Today reports that two government lawmakers in South Carolina have sponsored a bill to require officials to use television replay to determine the outcome of close plays. According to the paper, Rep. Harold Mitchell and South Carolina House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith sponsored the bill because a high school Basketball Team lost the state title game over a controversial shot.

Don't worry, it probably won't be that big of an expense to taxpayers. You know, buying the cameras. Then buying the televisions. Then hiring people to operate them … at every single high school game in the state.

- Many NFL coaches get at least three years on the job to prove themselves. College coaches get that much or more. But in Sandy, Oregon, you'd better deliver, or you're out. According to the Sandy Post, Sandy High head coach Todd Quincey and all of his assistants were fired after two years on the job. This happened even though, according to the paper, the team was decimated by injuries, and had to use J.V. players on the squad. Not only that, but the coach went through his review by the school in December, making the timing of the March firing odd.

But you have to get those W's in Sandy, because apparently, the school's athletic director, Courtney Murphy, really wants to win. "The measuring stick is they need to win enough games in the first year to get us in the playoffs. In this conference, five teams go to the playoffs. I don't want low expectations for our new coach."