Mercy Rules in Football. What do you think of it?

[ABQCOWBOY]

Mercy Rules have been around for a while in sports but we never had them when I played. Now we see coaches being fined for the scores being to high. In some cases in California, I think, even suspensions are being enforced on HS Coaches.

What do you guys think?

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Mercy Rules are needed...without them we would have a great number of young children with broken knuckles and premature arthritis in the hands.

 

[Future]

I think kids need to get better and their parents need to stop whining.

I do think that leagues should try to take steps to make games more competitive, but really, there are always going to be blowouts when you're talking about little kids. The thing in California that you're talking about is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Doomsday101]

Mercy Rules have been around for a while in sports but we never had them when I played. Now we see coaches being fined for the scores being to high. In some cases in California, I think, even suspensions are being enforced on HS Coaches.

What do you guys think?

I think when I played I gave no quarter and expected no quarter. Losing sucks but what hurts more is a not being allowed to finish. I would much rather get my butt kicked and than to have some one show pity on me.

 

[Jammer]

I don't have that much of a problem with having a mercy rule, but strongly disagree with the coach getting fined and getting suspended.

 

[Wheeltax]

We can't have kids thinking there are consequences to not working hard and showing effort, after all

 

[joseephuss]

They used mercy rules in college football this past weekend. Miami and Savannah St. played a 12 minute fourth quarter. Louisville and FIU played with a running clock for much of the latter part of the game.

I don't care either way. If mercy rules are used that is okay with me. If they aren't, I'm fine with that as well. I don't like the idea of fining or suspended coaches. Seems like nonsense.

 

[Tabascocat]

Mercy rules would be ok from junior high and lower but not HS and higher. Most of us played in the days of good old fashioned butt kicking's and we dealt with it. The coaches would let us have it and we went out next time trying to get better. Winning and losing in sports is the most fundamental aspect. All athletes should experience both ends IMO.

 

[Jammer]

One more thing about mercy rules for kids. The kids aren't stupid. If a game is stopped because of a mercy rule the kids who were on the losing end know they lost and they would have lost even worse if the rule wasn't in place. Your team sucks, but lets pretend it doesn't suck as bad because we stopped the game early because we didn't want you to know you really could have sucked even more.

 

[speedkilz88]

Instead of going about it like CA, they should have just made rules about making sure the whole team plays a significant number of plays once up so many points-put the backups in. Maybe even make it mandatory for both teams to do that.

 

[WV Cowboy]

As many here know, I have coached youth sports for 25 years.
I have been on both ends of butt-whoopin's. (Fortunately I have had very good players so it wasn't me very often)

If I'm down big, I NEVER expect the other team to help keep my team close. That is our job.

If we are up big, I will try to keep the score down, but I will not tell my players not to play hard. At some point, your team needs to make the plays.

I also don't think any mercy rule should be invoked until later in the contest.

I have been leading 12-0 in the first inning of a 15 yr old league, and had parents/coaches from the other team angry because I didn't let up in the second inning.

That makes me mad.

Sports are competition, .. if you can't handle that, find something else to do.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I have no issue with Mercy rules at the young ages. I don't think it benefits anyone to crush kids at that age. Once they're in junior high and above then there shouldn't even be a discussion about a mercy rule. At that point you're all more than old enough to understand that it's part of sports and sometimes teams get beaten really badly.

 

[bounce]

I don't like the idea, only because I feel like it's MORE embarrassing to be pitied. I'd rather lose by 70 than have the game called after 50 because people took pity on us.

With little kids, I'm ok with it, but in high school, it's ridiculous.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't like the idea, only because I feel like it's MORE embarrassing to be pitied. I'd rather lose by 70 than have the game called after 50 because people took pity on us.

With little kids, I'm ok with it, but in high school, it's ridiculous.

I agree with this. I've never been associated with a Mercy Rule game as a player but I do have kids that have either recently been in HS or are still in HS. The School that my kids attend have a decent football program and they Mercy Rule teams all the time. I think they've Mercy Ruled two of the four teams they've played this year. Anyway, the kids talk about those teams way worse then they do the teams they beat otherwise. I'm not sure you are doing those teams any favors. IDK.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Depends on age of children, level of competition etc. My son has been on the winning end of high scores and the losing end of high scores. Last spring, some parents were houseleague parents and were quite choked when another team ran the score up on our team . To me it was just part of the game.

When my son was in H4 (8 year olds), his hockey team was the best in the province for his age group. When we got up a ton, the coach told them to tone it down and not celebrate. However, we never told them not to score.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

We can't have kids thinking there are consequences to not working hard and showing effort, after all

that isn't fair, sometimes the other team is just better and no matter how hard you work, you are going to be killed. My son's hockey team when he was 7 played a private club. The boys all worked their hardest but they still lost 21-0. The others were just superior players.

 

[ologan]

I think kids need to get better and their parents need to stop whining.

I do think that leagues should try to take steps to make games more competitive, but really, there are always going to be blowouts when you're talking about little kids. The thing in California that you're talking about is absolutely ridiculous.

Maybe we should start calling it the "Kumbaya Rule", then the winning players could sing peaceful, friendly songs to the vanquished, which will either soothe the savage butt beating just delivered....or initiate BrainPaint's prediction of busted knuckles and future arthritis. I pray we get back to the latter!

 

[Lonestar94]

There shouldn't be such thing as "Mercy".

Man up and accept they were the better team that day, and learn from it. Pop Warner, High School, College, Pro's, it doesn't matter.

 

[bounce]

There shouldn't be such thing as "Mercy".

Man up and accept they were the better team that day, and learn from it. Pop Warner, High School, College, Pro's, it doesn't matter.

I agree except when you're talking about little kids. And the only reason I say that, is because you're trying to grow the love of sports in the kids. A lot of these kids are trying something new for the first time, and you don't want to turn them off of it forever because they got flat out destroyed. That's not the time to teach kids to "man up" when they're just looking forward to the juice boxes after the game. Teach them to love to play the sport(s) first and foremost.

 

[Idgit]

Mercy rules are humiliating. And they send exactly the wrong message. I HATE them.