Bloody Field, Ambulances, Police, Boys will be Boys

[Unregistered]

This was a U-18 MAPLE game. The game was not really that chippy until the very end. I think the ref may have ended it a little early, but I was not keeping time. FC player clearly started the fight after the hand shake. Not sure of his number; but he went back to the Pioneers bench and took a swing a a Pioneer player. It got a bit crazy after that with both sides swinging with coaches, refs trying to get order. Did see FC player kicked, didn't see where from opposite side of field. He came running off the field saying he was kicked in head. Terrible way to finish season.

This was told to me by a coach who witnessed the incident. Pioneer players were baiting an FC United player throughout the game. Whenever the kid touched the ball they'd quack. During the end of the game handshake one of the Pioneer kids quacked as he shook hands with the FC United player. That was what started the fight. The FC United kid got knocked to the ground and not only the kid who knocked him down, but a couple other Pioneer players started kicking the kid. Heard that the whole thing was bad enough that the younger players coming onto the field for the next game were horrified by what they saw. This was NOT just your average little scuffle among teenage boys, at least according to the coach.

[Unregistered]

All the Ivy League coaches scouting the game must have been horrified as well...:).

[Unregistered]

All the Ivy League coaches scouting the game must have been horrified as well...:).

Why would any coach, much less an Ivy, be scouting this game? Aren't most of these players either committed to their college or in college?

[North of You]

I have to say, after all the terrible comments I've heard on the sidelines from parents and spectators over the years, I'm not surprised this sort of thing finally happened here.

I can hear the ride home conversations from the past, "Next game if that kid comes in strong on you, take him out. If you can't take him out during the game, then get him afterwards!".

This sort of post-game outburst shouldn't surprise anyone. The only surprise is that we don't see it happen more often.

We adults need to reign in our own comments/actions and hopefully this will eventually trickle down to our players on the field. We don't need to perpetuate these sorts of antics any longer!