As much as I'm delighted that the Brandon Jr. Bulls Peewee A squad did what had to be done to make the state playoffs yesterday, I find myself wanting to apologize to the Scorpions Black and Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning Blue teams for what happened before their games against the squad.
It seems that a handful of Jr. Bulls players thought it would be funny to enter the ice as if they couldn't skate, holding onto the boards or falling -- repeatedly -- to the ice before each game. Sorry, kids, it wasn't funny. Want to know what it was? It was disrespectful.
It was disrespectful toward the opponent. It was disrespectful toward the game. And, frankly, it was an embarrassment. I don't believe that's how the organization wants itself represented. Then again, I could be wrong.
Thankfully, Colin and a few of his teammates chose the higher road and didn't participate in either bout of misguided foolishness. I'm also glad to hear the coaches spoke to the kids -- after it happened a second time. It's too bad, though, it didn't happen after the first.
Here's hoping that I'm not the only parent who was embarrassed by this bush-league act. Yes, kids will be kids. But, one would hope that parents are teaching their children about respect. Hopefully, that conversation, even if it happened for the first time, took place on the ride home.
One way to send a message is to put the kids through 60 minutes of hard skating at Monday's practice. If the kids are that bad at skating, it sounds like the perfect opportunity to get in some practice. It wouldn't be right, however, to single out the guilty parties. I'd make the whole team skate. Then, maybe, the lesson would get through.
Sooner or later, children have to learn to be responsible for making poor decisions. So, we'll see what happens. I'll be honest, though, I won't be holding my breath. There's a reason why some reputations are well-deserved.
I couldn't be more positive of anything else.
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