Severna Park field hockey coach Shelton's situation a wake-up call for all coaches
Two weeks ago, a quote in the Annapolis Capital attributed to Severna Park coach Lil Shelton sent shock waves through the field hockey community and should be considered a cautionary tale for all high school coaches.
Shelton was quoted as saying the District V game -- in which her previously undefeated team lost to Glenelg, 2-1 -- was "meaningless." Shelton was quoted as saying this in the Capital:
"'This is just an insignificant game. It's nice to win: Whoopee. We're better than Howard County. But that's all it's good for, really, and another feather in our hat. But who needs feathers? I told the girls, 'We don't have room for that trophy in our trophy case anyway.' "
Was Shelton a bad loser? Was she trying to inspire her team to something better?
Asked about the remark this week the longtime coach, whose team plays in Wednesday's 4A state semifinal at Franklin (5 p.m.) against the undefeated Westminster Owls, explained.
"What I said to my girls wasn't for the public," Shelton said. "It was after the game, and they were so down. I gathered them together, and I told them the game was meaningless. That we were getting ready for the state playoffs. As a coach, I'm trying to pump my girls up. And I had them all perked up when one of the Glenelg girls carrying the trophy happened to walk by and I told my team, 'We don't have room for that trophy anyway.'
"You talk to your team like that. It does not get past that for print. It's not something you'd ever say to the other team or on the record. I would never demean another team like that."
Shelton said the reporter had overheard her conversation with her team and later asked her what she had said. She said she told him, but didn't think she was on the record.
She said she was stunned to read her remarks in the next day's paper.
"I wrote an apology to the coach. I was upset for her girls. Ginger [Kincaid] and I have been friends for 30 years. And Ginger wrote me a very nice, understanding letter in reply. But now my credibility has been lost, hasn't it?"
It's an unfortunate incident, but the reporter did ask Shelton what she had said to her team. She knew he was a reporter, and she repeated it. At that point, it is on the record.
Even before that point, however, coaches should understand and be aware anything they say on the field is usually fair game.
Reporters are there to be the eyes and ears of the fans. If coaches want to say something they don't want anyone else to know, they'd be wise to say it in the locker room, behind closed doors.
Comments
sounds like the Annapolis Capital reporters are on par with the Carroll County Times reporters when it comes to respect and integrity. They will do anything to stir up trouble. At least the Captial reporters can spell...
Posted by: coachz | November 10, 2010 6:38 AM
"Reporters are the eyes and ears of the fans"? Really? When was that decree made. I'm a fan and I didn't ask anyone to go looking for drama. It was a post game pep talk. That's all. Anyone that's ever played and lost a game knows that. The lost meant little in the context of their drive for the state championship. That's all she meant and anyone with half a brain would understand that. No harm. No foul. But this reporter was "off-sides" (imho).
Reporters are often just opportunists. Looking for a sensational story and it doesn't hurt their cause if it includes a little controversy. A sports reporter should be smart enough to distinguish arrogance from compassion and 'team talk'. But context seldom matters to many reporters. Discretion is a foreign concept. It's all about 'the story' and where one doesn't exist... make one.
On balance, I do commend you for going out of your way to put this incident in it's proper perspective. She deserved better.
Posted by: Scott | November 10, 2010 3:21 PM
That would be understandable if this was the first time she had ever made such comments. Unfortunately, it's not. For the past 30 years there have been numerous subtle jabs at teams that have defeated the Falcons. The field hockey athletes and teams at SP have been very good. The leadership and sportsmanship of the head coach are questionable.
Posted by: SPGrad | November 10, 2010 4:05 PM
@coachz - Is the Baltimore Sun well balanced in their reporting? One could argue they're a little subjective in their delivery as well. I love the Polls ranking process. There is no subjective analysis in that process is there. Yes that’s sarcasm. Something about “Coaches opinions” being factored into the rankings helps me draw that conclusion. Respect and Integrity is a fair request for all newspapers, beyond the two you mention. The problem with today’s journalism as a whole (beyond sports) it appears to be social acceptable for journalists to take quotes, twist them out of context, and interject of the reporters opinions, such that the reader doesn’t directly see the opinion of the writer. It’s an art form. The days of delivering the basic facts are lost!
Posted by: dewwey | November 11, 2010 11:59 AM
Coaches are supposed to set good examples for our children, and teach them things that far exceed team competition. We must teach our children not only to win with dignity, but to lose with dignity as well. It's time for this coach to but down her play book and reflect a little bit on the power she actually holds over this situation and spin it into something positive. As the parent of a child playing Field Hockey in College, I take offense to her comments, no matter what team my child is playing on.Bottom line, winning isn't everything.
Posted by: Linda | November 12, 2010 8:08 AM
I too am an SP Grad embarrassed by the behavior of said coach. The girls at Severna Park deserve a leader that takes the high road. Too many times she remarks in the local paper that another team showed no skill and got lucky to beat her girls. Broadneck, South River, Chesapeake and Severn have beat and or tied SP in recent memory only to have Lil’s post game interviews lack in sportsmanship. While this episode might have started with a reporter overhearing a conversation….there have been years of quotes similar to this.
In fact a number of years ago I was witness to her “on field” lack of sportsmanship. Broadneck broke a scoreless tie with SP inside the last two minutes of a game and celebrated the goal. Not liking the potential outcome, Lil instructed her girls to take the ball from their goal, line up….after browbeating the official that Broadneck was delaying the game, the official agreed to start play while 90% of the Broadneck team was behind the ball. Oh yea…the clock was stopped as a result of the goal. With a 10 v 3 SP scored to tie the game. At no time in the history of field hockey has this ever been allowed. In football or soccer do they allow a team to kick off while the other team is not lined up? Come on, let the girls play.
Lil, I commend your career, your girls and teams have been awesome but show some integrity, and sportsmanship on and off the field.
Posted by: AnotherSPGRAD | November 13, 2010 8:03 AM
I think Linda above said it just right. According to others above, Coach S has a history of bitterness and excuses when losing. She is out of bounds on all counts; 1) dissing the other team's accomplishment, 2) "teaching" her charges bad sportsmanship, and 3) assuming her words wouldn't spread. There's nothing wrong with saying "good game, now let's go back to work on Monday." I hope this Sue Sylvester sleeps well surrounded by her roomful of trophies.
Posted by: outofcounty | November 18, 2010 3:52 PM
The WM game was truly KARMA this year. I have witnessed Lil and the SP team carrying on with their lengthy celebrations after a big win or not so big win but a milestone victory. The silly string party which made a mess of the new AHS turf field is just one such case where the losing team was left cleaning up the mess. The SP girls are a great bunch and Lil should be grateful to coach them. Hope she gains some humility through this process.
Posted by: fromthesideline | November 22, 2010 6:23 AM