4R341, you seem like a sensible person. When u say using the jersey number to identify a kid to bust his chops on here is ok, it’s not. You might as well use his name. Everyone knows who “8” is. When a poster uses the jersey # to say a kid was injured or whatever that’s different. I have 2 ?s for u.
Did u play and what if your son was that kid?
You're right. The jersey number allows you to cross-reference the player if you know where to look. However, it's been used on here for years to reference both bad and good gameplay. Sometimes it's a coach. Sometimes a kid makes a boneheaded play. That's life. We all mess up. Constructive, and sometimes not-so-constructive, criticism can motivate a struggling player. But if not, we learn from it and move on. Even ignore it if it's people being asshats. If you can't live with that, don't play in a spectator's sport. People watch and talk. Either on here or in real life. You're not going to stop that.
Now, if a kid commits an illegal crime on or off the ball field, I don't think it should be discussed on here. And, sometimes that happens on here, too.
No, I didn't play on an official team, but played a lot recreationally without pads. I went to FH, and while I wanted to play, it ,just never happened. My fault. I focused on academics. I still love football, though, including FH football. And, I still thoroughly understand the game.
My son did play pee wee, but after that he developed a damn video game addiction. He still went out and played football all through high school with his friends just as I did - without pads. He just wouldn't commit to the dedication required for organized play.
Had he played and would've been criticized his feelings would've been hurt. Human nature to not like any kind of criticism. When he was little I worked long and hard with him to improve his ability and understanding of the game. Myself, I probably would've been butt hurt when someone insulted him, but I would've used it as a tool to further motivate him. If he's not good enough, he's not good enough. It's a team sport. The best players should play or the whole team suffers. Kids need to be taught how to lose and not internalize it. Parents could help with this if they wanted to instead of trying to protect them from the harsh reality of life. Sometimes the coaches decisions, especially where there's the perception of nepotism or cronyism, need to be called out. It's the team as a whole who loses when you don't play your best players.
I'm not saying to come on here and be disrespectful (e.g. calling people names, etc.). But some kids are taught by their parents to not accept the truth when it hurts their feelings. That is a much worse insult to the young man's learning and development as a man. They don't need some safe space where they can hide from the truth. Do that and you're setting them up for failure and disappointment and some seriously thin skin. They'll just run away any time they're criticized.
