Considering that you likely wouldn't be in that bowl game but for that 1st round NFL running back I would consider it a wash. I think fans have much harder feelings about athletes skipping a bowl game than their teamates.
Not Playing in Bowl Games
- Thread starter TU_BLA
- Start date
I'm not looking for that at all. I'm looking for loyalty and a sense of duty to the guys who would have helped them get them to their goals. The whole "there is no 'i' in team" mantra has been lost...and it sucks
After you pointed out my error, I was trying to be funny by both admitting my error and then correcting it and pretending it never happened. I apparently failed at being funny. Good catch on the Houston W.
A player could get hurt in a bowl game sure. A player can get hurt in any game. It's always a risk. So is life. Heck they could skip the bowl game and die in a car accident the day before the draft. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. I think they should enjoy the opportunity in front of them and play the bowl game. Play one more time with their college teammates. Enjoy the moment. It's certainly their choice to skip it, but years from now when their playing days are over, they may come to regret it.
There is an “i” in team .. it’s found in the “A” hole...
I see them on my sons travel ball teams all the time. People bigger than the team. Players too good to bunt. Pitchers too good to throw junk. Runners too good to slide.
Players that leave you scrambling to get a lineup together because they show up late or go play in a showcase rather than the state championships...
I see them on my sons travel ball teams all the time. People bigger than the team. Players too good to bunt. Pitchers too good to throw junk. Runners too good to slide.
Players that leave you scrambling to get a lineup together because they show up late or go play in a showcase rather than the state championships...
Some of that is on their parents...
As for the pitchers who won't throw junk...what age group are we talking? Anything younger than 14 and they don't need to be throwing junk. The most sickening sound you could ever hear is a 12 year old snapping his humerus trying to throw a curveball
High school prep ball.
I agree on too young throwing a curve. But, most youth coaches don’t teach it properly. Many try to teach it like a screwball rather than as a football throwing motion. The screwball torques the arm too much. With most kids though it’s the shoulder that takes a beating.
It’s too bad ESPN glorifies 12 yr olds throwing curves every year in LLWS..
I agree on the ESPN thing. I witnessed first hand a kid snapping his arm throwing a curveball. I was in college at the time and was umpiring games as summer job. Sickening. The kid was a great great player too and they were about 8 games into their season when it happened. And you are correct in that it is not taught properly. Most pitchers get the movement they do because of grip. The best pitchers get there because they throw all of their pitches with the same basic arm action.
EDIT: If you want to teach a kid a junk pitch, teach him how to throw a circle change or pseudo-knuckleball. Doesn't require any different arm action, just an adjustment in grip.
Drives me crazy to see these "coaches....let's be honest...Dads" having 12 year old throw curve balls but not one kid on the team throws a simple change. Since most kids that age don't have the same arm motion of a curve the change is a more effective pitch imo. Not to mention it makes the fastball a more effective pitch. A simple change (whether it's a circle change, palm, or taking the index finger off the ball) is a lost art....at least in these parts.
I would tell my parents what I'm teaching and why knowing that many dads had taught their kids differently. I would then ask the dads to come talk to me in private if they had an issue and we would work out a compromise. Never had any issues after that.
Wanna talk about hitting coaches having 12 year olds taking a huge stride next?
When I was helping coach a coach pitch team...the head coach would pitch and he'd throw too soft IMO and a lot of the kids who were working with their dads were seeing and timing pitches at a faster rate than the coach would throw. It threw them off in a big way. He missed a couple of games on business and I got to throw to the kids. Flatter and a little harder and some of these kids started knocking the snot out of the ball.
I did teach one of the kids the Danny Tartabull pick the leg up because his timing was way off and always swinging early. This helped him stay back just a bit longer and time the pitches better. I am old school and was taught the Walt Hriniak way of hitting. I don't think anyone would teach a kid that way now with the emphasis today being on power and hitting the ball up.
Coach pitch is the worst for coaches. Depending on the league the kids got 4 pitches or three strikes. Talk about pressure to throw a good pitch on that last one. If the kid "Kd" it was always the coach's fault 
. At that age there were also a couple of kids who would swing on the same plane regardless of pitch location. You were basically trying to hit the bat with the ball. One of the most enjoyable times of my life.
. At that age there were also a couple of kids who would swing on the same plane regardless of pitch location. You were basically trying to hit the bat with the ball. One of the most enjoyable times of my life.I think if your a guaranteed pick in the top two rounds, you should absolutely do what's best for you and your family. The debate that the NFL cares about kids skipping bowl games is non existent. Sure there are individuals in the NFL who probably don't like kids leaving early but it had ZERO effect on last years kids who skipped out because the NFL is a business! Colleges have no incentive to offer kids to participate in bowl games. Colleges issue scholarships for the duration of one year that are renewable. If they have the flexibility to sign and eliminate scholarships why shouldn't the kid have a choice to participate in the bowl? If I'm a kid in college making nothing and struggling, I'm not going to waste one more second in college when I could be training to make millions!
Its a business. If you don't let the kid work out at the facilities he will go to either OU or OSU. The end game is to have a kid get drafted high and then use Sundays to market the University to recruits as well as getting them to donate money back to the university. Believe me, the University has way more to lose than the player!
Look I get that it is a bad look. I would have played in a bowl my senior year had we made one but I wasn’t looking at a potential first day draft slot. If I was looking at potential 7 figure signing bonus, I’d still like to think I would want one more opportunity to play with my brothers. But I totally get the other side.
The fact that some fans think these guys should be held hostage playing in the Idaho potato bowl Is ridiculous. With regard to college football, these guys have given 3, 4, 5 or even 6 years to these schools and have the right to make whatever decision they want. Playing, not playing, choosing to pursue the NFL, or simply choosing to just be done with ball. Period.
On a side note, we have parents, probably some on this board, who in some cases are shelling out thousands of dollars a year for 8 year old competitive travel teams, pitching and hitting coaches, and QB gurus in order to try and position their kids for that elusive full scholarship and the even more unrealistic “opportunity” to play professionally which in all likelihood will never happen. And yet we are indignant and shocked when a 21 or 22 year old, when staring at millions of dollars as long as they make it to draft day unscathed, decides he’s gonna make a business decision while taking a hard look at risk vs reward.
The fact that some fans think these guys should be held hostage playing in the Idaho potato bowl Is ridiculous. With regard to college football, these guys have given 3, 4, 5 or even 6 years to these schools and have the right to make whatever decision they want. Playing, not playing, choosing to pursue the NFL, or simply choosing to just be done with ball. Period.
On a side note, we have parents, probably some on this board, who in some cases are shelling out thousands of dollars a year for 8 year old competitive travel teams, pitching and hitting coaches, and QB gurus in order to try and position their kids for that elusive full scholarship and the even more unrealistic “opportunity” to play professionally which in all likelihood will never happen. And yet we are indignant and shocked when a 21 or 22 year old, when staring at millions of dollars as long as they make it to draft day unscathed, decides he’s gonna make a business decision while taking a hard look at risk vs reward.
