It doesn't have to be mean spirited. This past year for field hockey, my dd and the other freshman had to show up for practice dressed like they were in the 80's and practice that way. It was kinda comical. Good clean fun.
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Hazing in in HS Girls Sports
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It doesn't have to be mean spirited. This past year for field hockey, my dd and the other freshman had to show up for practice dressed like they were in the 80's and practice that way. It was kinda comical. Good clean fun.
I have to believe everyone here is generally on the same page about wanting their kid to be safe. Where the difference of opinion occurs is what they think is acceptable.
In the original post about the soccer team initiation ritual it sounded and probably was by all accounts to be safe and innocent. I think it sounded like good clean fun. I don't have all the facts, but, as innocent and harmless as it was, it was judged by those in authority as a "hazing" ritual. It was important for those in authority to set a precedent that any type of "hazing" is unacceptable by them. As harsh as the punishment was; I believe the principal acted correctly. The principal is responsible for hundreds or a few thousand students. If he was lenient or inconsistent in his/her judgment inevitably someone would take it too far. History has already shown kids take things too far. A quick Google search will show hundreds of examples of hazing rituals going too far. These type of rituals are immature and unnecessary and will only evolve to something more and more risky and dangerous. Let the play on the field speak for itself. There is no need to put kids in situations like that where they need to make a choice to follow or fear being ostracized for not following the mob.
Rewind twenty years before I even knew what hazing or initiation was. I was a sophomore in HS who made varsity. One night after practice with my team, all the rookie varsity players were told to drink a six pack of Old Milwaukee beer and 10 White Castle cheeseburgers in under 30 minutes. I was 15 years old and never had a drink of alcohol in my life. At that time I remember thinking it wasn't a big deal and proceeded to do it. A few of my fellow rookie teammates didn't really want to do it but followed my lead and did it as well. One kid cried while doing it. I remember thinking, "What a wuss!" After completing my task we all promptly threw up and everyone got a big laugh about it. We also poked a little fun at the kid who cried. I think back now and wish I wasn't even put in that situation. I was a kid asked to drink beer and eat cheeseburgers. While the drinking of alcohol is illegal it seemed like a relatively harmless task at the time. But what did I know? I was a kid who wanted to fit in. Thinking back I kind of wish I was never put in that situation. I'd certainly not want my kid to be put in that or a similar situation today.
Kids really should not think it is acceptable to engage in these "initiation" rituals however harmless it may seem. I really don't see how any "initiation" ritual is needed in youth or HS sports. It's simply immature. Let them prove it with their play on the field... not by the willingness to be hit with a shaving cream pie. As a parent I want my kid to know that they shouldn't engage in that sort of thing from either side. I don't think I would really like being blindfolded and led around by a dog collar and be hit with shaving cream pie to fit "in". Nor would I want to do that to somebody. I agree it's harmless, but really? Is it really necessary?
In the original post about the soccer team initiation ritual it sounded and probably was by all accounts to be safe and innocent. I think it sounded like good clean fun. I don't have all the facts, but, as innocent and harmless as it was, it was judged by those in authority as a "hazing" ritual. It was important for those in authority to set a precedent that any type of "hazing" is unacceptable by them. As harsh as the punishment was; I believe the principal acted correctly. The principal is responsible for hundreds or a few thousand students. If he was lenient or inconsistent in his/her judgment inevitably someone would take it too far. History has already shown kids take things too far. A quick Google search will show hundreds of examples of hazing rituals going too far. These type of rituals are immature and unnecessary and will only evolve to something more and more risky and dangerous. Let the play on the field speak for itself. There is no need to put kids in situations like that where they need to make a choice to follow or fear being ostracized for not following the mob.
Rewind twenty years before I even knew what hazing or initiation was. I was a sophomore in HS who made varsity. One night after practice with my team, all the rookie varsity players were told to drink a six pack of Old Milwaukee beer and 10 White Castle cheeseburgers in under 30 minutes. I was 15 years old and never had a drink of alcohol in my life. At that time I remember thinking it wasn't a big deal and proceeded to do it. A few of my fellow rookie teammates didn't really want to do it but followed my lead and did it as well. One kid cried while doing it. I remember thinking, "What a wuss!" After completing my task we all promptly threw up and everyone got a big laugh about it. We also poked a little fun at the kid who cried. I think back now and wish I wasn't even put in that situation. I was a kid asked to drink beer and eat cheeseburgers. While the drinking of alcohol is illegal it seemed like a relatively harmless task at the time. But what did I know? I was a kid who wanted to fit in. Thinking back I kind of wish I was never put in that situation. I'd certainly not want my kid to be put in that or a similar situation today.
Kids really should not think it is acceptable to engage in these "initiation" rituals however harmless it may seem. I really don't see how any "initiation" ritual is needed in youth or HS sports. It's simply immature. Let them prove it with their play on the field... not by the willingness to be hit with a shaving cream pie. As a parent I want my kid to know that they shouldn't engage in that sort of thing from either side. I don't think I would really like being blindfolded and led around by a dog collar and be hit with shaving cream pie to fit "in". Nor would I want to do that to somebody. I agree it's harmless, but really? Is it really necessary?
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- May 25, 2010
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By the letter of the law - which is being supported by participants in this thread and by the school/judge at issue here - that's hazing and the perpetrators should be punished for it.
What's good clean fun to you or me no doubt inflicted unmeasurable and irreversible psychological damage upon those who were made to dress as if they were from another era so that the other players could laugh at them.
It does not matter if the victims themselves were laughing also.
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
I hear what you're saying SSD. However, don't you think that if the whole team dressed up and practiced in 60s threads, everyone would've had as much or more fun, while the team unity/team building would've been more substantial because it was inclusive? And, to boot, eliminates having to rely on someone else's perception/definition of hazing?
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Teenage Moronic Tendencies
Earlier someone stated that all teenage GIRLS act like morons at times. I take exception to that statement. Based on my own 16 YOs (2F/1M), I have come to the understanding that teenage moronic tendencies are NOT gender specific. In fact, after the recent conclusion of another year of travel/HS SB and inherent crazy daddy/mommy drama, I'm inclined to conclude these tendencies are not age limited either
GM
Earlier someone stated that all teenage GIRLS act like morons at times. I take exception to that statement. Based on my own 16 YOs (2F/1M), I have come to the understanding that teenage moronic tendencies are NOT gender specific. In fact, after the recent conclusion of another year of travel/HS SB and inherent crazy daddy/mommy drama, I'm inclined to conclude these tendencies are not age limited either
GM
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,554
- 0
Moronic tendencies are not limited by gender or age. The truth of the matter is that no matter how intelligent and wise an individual is, as the number of individuals in a group increases the likelihood for the entire group to have moronic tenancies increases exponentially. This is how society devolves from individual intelligence to hazing, bullying, gangs, and onwards in a downward spiral to organized religion, political parties, and even entire nations who believe a two party dictatorship is a democracy and even go so far as to picking sides under the moronic guise that change will occur.
Or maybe I just like the word moronic and this post is moronic, but we'll never know because this forum is public
-W
Or maybe I just like the word moronic and this post is moronic, but we'll never know because this forum is public
-W
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
LMAO funny. I'm with you W. What's next on our moronic agenda? For the rest of you , if you're not with us, you're against us. I'm signing off right now to get my ballot back so I can change my vote and make a real difference right after I let the dog out and go pick up teenager #1C.
obbay
Banned
While I have disagreed with most everything crystalmc said, I applaud the way she deals with bullying. One exception I would take is that in my DDs case, it was "OH, NOOoooo, my daughter would never do that" or "so and so would NEVER do that, she's such a great kid!" The parents nurtured the problem.
yeah, hazing is a great tradition. those frat boys who had to get drunk and wet their pants or start fights or eat human feces are now coaching your kids. so relax.
regarding the issue that started this thread- thank God the judge upheld the school's decision. Those parents are the candyass, it's-never-my-kid, problem that is more of a problem than the "sissifying" of America. Those are the parents who coddle their kids.
When I was in HS, a player got in trouble and lost his college scholarship because in the Thanksgiving Day Game in his senior year, he deliberately kicked an opposing player in the face when he was down. The kid who was kicked recovered. just another example of overreaction by the powers-that-be.
yeah, hazing is a great tradition. those frat boys who had to get drunk and wet their pants or start fights or eat human feces are now coaching your kids. so relax.
regarding the issue that started this thread- thank God the judge upheld the school's decision. Those parents are the candyass, it's-never-my-kid, problem that is more of a problem than the "sissifying" of America. Those are the parents who coddle their kids.
When I was in HS, a player got in trouble and lost his college scholarship because in the Thanksgiving Day Game in his senior year, he deliberately kicked an opposing player in the face when he was down. The kid who was kicked recovered. just another example of overreaction by the powers-that-be.
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Have to say small schools in Illinois must have been different. We would've been swamped for the first few days in football if kids got free beer and cheeseburgers. Coaches would have wondered why so many kids quit shortly after it started. I'm not kidding either. We drank more in H.S. than college, although things have changed a lot since then.
I rarely went into the bathroom early in my freshman year. You'd get your head put into a toilet really quick if you weren't careful. That's what a hall pass was for
In football, they would pee in the shower and shoved a kids face into the drain. THAT is hazing.
Icy hot in the jock was comical the few times it worked.
Guess I don't see a pie in the face as hazing, unless of course, the recipient is against it. It's often used as a great fundraiser. And kind of tasty when it happens, at least to me.
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