More Than a Game: Basketball As Life Lesson at Yates High School

Lines of demarcation exist in sports and in life to distinguish things like fair/foul, legal/illegal and more.  Baseball has its foul line, football has the goal posts, and society has determined that there is something magical about a person's 18th birthday.

Basketball, I recently discovered thanks to the Lions of Yates High School in Houston, has a very unique line of demarcation that might surprise you.

Yates High School is the No. 1 nationally ranked High School basketball program according to USA Today. They are a powerhouse team led by Coach Greg Wise.  Please understand, when I say powerhouse, I mean POWERhouse.

The team averages 117 points per game.  That stat is made all the more remarkable when you realize the team only plays 32-minute games! 

They scored 100 points for a record 15th straight time recently.  Yates set the state record for most points in one game at 170. They don’t win games, they dominate games.  
They are out to execute on every possession, stop their opponent at every opportunity; they are out to win every game.  Isn't that the point of sport?

The country was riveted in 2007 when the Patriots were poised to beat everyone for only the second time in NFL history.

When the Seattle Mariners raced to a 60-21 record in 2001 fans from the Northwest were clamoring for the entire team to represent the American League in the All-Star game. 

Michael Jordan and his Bulls team of 1995-1996 never took their foot off the accelerator on their way to an NBA best 72 wins.

America loves a winner.  We love passion and have no problem when a team works hard from the opening whistle right up until the fat lady sings.

It was 20 years ago now that a small college in California exemplified all these characteristics and all of America was enthralled. 

Loyola Marymount coach Paul Westhead derived an offensive set that averaged a shot every 7 to 10 seconds.  On defense his team pressed on every possession.  It was a horse-race that the well-conditioned Lions were very good at.

They once scored 157 points against an opponent.  They beat teams by 31, 36, 37 and even 43 points!  In the NCAA tournament they destroyed Michigan 149-115!  They weren't just winning games, like the Lions of Yates, the Lions of LMU were dominating games.

The LMU Lions were embraced.  The Yates Lions are being vilified.

I understand of course that one huge component of the love directed towards LMU was the sad and unexpected passing of Hank Gathers.  I also understand that one huge component of the anger directed towards Yates is that they keep the pressure on regardless of the score. 

However, the buzz around LMU was alive before Gathers passing and the negativity directed towards Yates seems to stem from a 170-35 beating they dropped on a team in which they pressed while leading 100-12.

Which takes me back to my point, isn't the goal of sport always to compete and work to win?

The Patriots didn't pull Tom Brady when they were up big in the second quarter.  The Bulls didn't sit MJ and Pippen after running off 15 straight points. 

Sure, after the game was seemingly out of reach, the backups would enter the game, but did they play with any less passion than the starters? No.  That was a one-way ticket back to the bench.

A lot has been written about the pros and cons of our country’s trend toward political correctness, but what about our bent towards over the top sportsmanship? 

Don't get me wrong; I am all for playing fair and not purposefully demoralizing a team of 10-year-old soccer players, but what’s wrong with giving your all against 17 and 18 year old ballers?

In short, what is the line of demarcation when it’s OK to play hard all the time?  Why are we so scared to let our kids experience loss?  When did that craziness begin?

I played sports all through college and have coached teams the last six years.  I regularly pull my stars when we are thumping an opponent and feel the sting when a team presses us with a 30-point lead. 

I have been involved in games that were lost that I felt should have been won and won games on lucky shots that we should have lost.  I learned from both the wins and the losses, and quite honestly I learned more from the losses than the wins.

This movement towards protecting our kids from a 50-point loss when they are on the cusp of adulthood is silly to me.  At 18 you can buy cigarettes, drive, vote and go to war but we still feel the need to protect you from a devastating loss on the basketball court.  Why?  

We want our kids to win at everything they do, I get that.  I have four kids and all have played organized sports at some point.  I would love for them to win every time out but I realize, and I want them to realize, that the real value in participating is giving it your all.  Sometimes that’s enough to win, sometimes its not. 

Somewhere along the line, we either lost sight of that or felt the need to insure everyone who plays wins by giving out ribbons for seventh place!

The anger directed towards the Yates basketball team is reaching a fever pitch as they march towards the State Championship.  Rick Reilly, formally of Sports Illustrated and now a columnist for ESPN, chimed in by calling the team the "Classless" of 2010.  It seems the line of demarcation is set. 

Play hard 100% of the time, press like your coach tells you, play to win and go hard all the time...but only when you get to college.  If you dare pull that before high school graduation, it won't look too good.

Baloney.

The team from Yates is on a roll that needs to be appreciated.  They are a group that will remember their time together and their amazing run for years and years to come.

Even the players on the teams they beat will look back with some pride in having competed against the best.

The Yates Lions play again March 13 at 3:30 p.m. CST against Lancaster in the Texas State Championship game.  Will Lancaster win in an upset handing Yates their first loss?  Will Yates dominate or will it be a close game against two tough competitors? 

I am excited to find out.  I do know however that when the ball is tossed up to start the game the Lions, and not doubt the team from Lancaster High, will both give their all until the final whistle.

That is the essence of sport, the real value of participating in sport and the reason we watch.