Maybe they need to build a ring........

Due to a lack of specific resources (i.e. money, manpower), the local press doesn't do enough to follow-up on reports of incidents involving Section II schools.

Take for example what happened in Saratoga Wednesday night after a co-ed basketball double-header between Saratoga & Shenendehowa. There was something that went down in the Saratoga High parking lot after the men's game, and police are still investigating, according to the Daily Gazette. In filing his reports on the double-header in Friday's editions of The Saratogian & The Record, reporter Stan Hudy may not have witnessed the incident, hence no mention of it in those papers.

Five days earlier, in Delmar, there was a minor skirmish on the court during the men's game between Bethlehem & Averill Park. One player from each team was ejected, and suspended for each team's next game, and that's where it was left by the press. That happens.

A couple of years earlier, in a women's game between Bethlehem and Albany, the Lady Eagles ended the Lady Falcons' undefeated start, but Albany parents, frustrated by the officiating not going in favor of Albany, caused a ruckus from the bleachers that led to a premature end to the game.

It sparked some unpleasant memories from my time at Troy High back in the day.

During the 1980-1 season, Troy's biggest rivalry was with Linton (now 1/2 of Schenectady High 2.0). While the players respected each other on both teams, we cannot say the same for the spectators.

I'm going to piece this together based on what I was told by fellow students. Following a December game in Schenectady, some Linton students decided to figuratively rub it in after a Linton win, and reportedly shook up not only the players' bus, but the cheerleaders' bus. Fast forward two months to the rematch at Troy, also won by Linton, which completed a season sweep. Some Troy students remembered the incident at Linton, and decided to take action, sparking an ice fight on campus where one lone Troy student was arrested.

I read about the ice fight in the paper two days after it happened, and that's when I learned about the earlier incident in Schenectady. As soon as I learned of the Linton kids shaking the cheerleaders' bus, that upset me, largely because I was close with one of the cheerleaders, who's still a very close friend today. The funny part is that the incident at Linton was never reported as such, if but because the Linton kids were just being immature, not malicious.

To my knowledge, there've been no such incidents at Troy since, nearly 40 years later.

But, it's not just violence of the physical kind that's a problem, and there've been incidents of violence on and off the court across the country in recent years. There's also the psychological factor to consider.

In October, a women's soccer game between Niskayuna and Schenectady was marred by some Nisky students allegedly shouting racial taunts and slurs at some of the Schenectady players. It was bad enough that the Lady Patriots were among the worst teams in the Suburban Council, but to be subjected to such verbal abuse wasn't doing any wonders for the women's self-esteem, either.

In most cases, the schools keep things in-house. The school districts have images to protect, after all, which is why there is little or no follow-up in the press.

But, here's an idea that the schools & police should consider. If there's any more aggression between players, such as in the Bethlehem-Averill Park game, maybe the boys should be asked to resolve their differences in the boxing ring at the local Boys & Girls Club or YMCA under tight supervision. 

Heh, I wonder why no one's ever thought of that.