Photo Credit: Dion Clisso/PrepsKCWhile football season is a few months away I’ve been enjoying the high school basketball play on both sides of the state line.
On the Kansas side Shawnee Mission Northwest won its second straight Class 6A boys title beating a very talented and well coached Olathe North. On the 6A girls’ side Blue Valley North won its second title in three years capping an outstanding year. In 5A St. Thomas Aquinas won the girls title capping out another outstanding year.
On the Missouri side Classes 1-3 finished up last weekend with Class 4-6 finishing this weekend. Oak Park won the boys Class 6 title over Chaminade.
In the Class 6 bracket Chaminade made it to the championship game with a 72-42 win over Lafayette (Wildwood) out of St. Louis. Blowouts can happen even in the state semis but there was a little more at play. Lafayette played without five seniors who had participated and helped the Lancers to an overtime win over SLUH in the quarterfinals.
There was no discipline incident, no mass sickness or injuries. No, these players and their parents opted to go on a preplanned spring break trip instead of participating with their teammates in the school’s appearance in the final four. This is only the third time Lafayette had been there, but these families decided a vacation that was already paid for was more important than playing for the team they committed to back in November.
Let that sink in.
They choose a vacation over playing with their teammates in the biggest games of their high school career.
So you say they had already paid for the trip. Well, there are things called trip insurance. Or maybe mom and dad go head and you can join them for the final weekend when the games are over.
I’m not the coach but I wouldn’t letter them or allow them to come to the banquet. I really hope this doesn’t become a trend because quitting on your teammates is a bad example for children who are becoming adults. It goes against everything sports are supposed to be teaching.
