"The purpose of the Michigan State Developmental Soccer League is to provide the best environment for the development of youth soccer players below the age of 12 through a league environment that encourages fun, creativity and competitiveness."
The league should perhaps add sports(wo)manship to its mission statement. For a league that has made a great show of calling for parents to act "appropriately" on the sidelines, its coaching and officiating is definitely showing some cracks.
I have played in the Detroit PSL basketball league, AAU Michigan basketball, and Big Ten football (and the St. Clair Shores House hockey league in the 1970s - which might have been the roughest of the lot). And I have seen my share of bad sports behavior. But it is hard to recall a moment when another team laughed and jeered at an injured player on the field. That is a sign that there might be a structural problem in the league.
The behavior of the Novi Jags 00 Green team when Force players were injured today was particularly disgusting and should be addressed by some responsible adult. This kind of behavior is not the fault of 11 year old girls, of course, who are simply playing as they are coached or, maybe, as they are parented. Either way, on the field it is the responsibility of coaches to monitor and manage this. And officials.
But when nothing is said by a coach, and officials can't control their emotions, in addition to being uninterested or unwilling to get up and down the field (or simply show up), parents, as consumers if nothing else, are perfectly entitled to respond -- either on the field or off.
On the athletic, as opposed to the business, side of things:The Force U12 girls were simply over matched physically, again, today against Novi in a 4-1 loss. Like last week, the ball rarely crossed midfield for the Force in the first half. Novi is simply bigger, more physical, and faster to the ball, particularly when the ball is in the air. But, fortunately, when the girls made it across midfield they came up with a great offensive effort. Zoe, always able to anticipate movement on the field, kept the ball in at midfield on the left side and got the ball to midfield partner, Grace. Grace, who had beautiful close touches all game, gave her best effort at the right moment and got the ball to Sawyer on the right hand side. Sawyer immediately popped the ball back into Christina who deftly used the outside of her right foot to place the ball into the back of the right corner.
The rest of the game, though,was a defensive slog. Kate's brilliant goalkeeping kept the team in the game last week but she did not have a chance on any goal tonight. Still, there were some highlights: the team came out with energy and courage in the second half and Zoe moved back from Mid in the second half and helped organize the backline. Emmi, Annabelle, Jill, and Sophie played tough under terrific pressure (and elbows).
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