Mercy rules and now punishments for winning by too much – how soft is too soft?

AFL Queensland’s consideration for a series of rules which could penalise clubs for winning by too much in junior competitions is nothing short of a farce, writes Jack Hudson.

FOOTBALL AFL – ADELAIDE CROWS TRAIN AT WESTMINSTER SCHOOL – JUNIOR SPORT – CRAIG LANG TRAINS WITH CROWS.

• AFL Queensland considers penalties for heavy wins
• How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription

How far is too far when it comes to protecting junior sportspeople from heavy losses?

AFL Queensland is currently considering a series of rules next season which could see sides lose ‘e-points’ for winning too heavily.

The proposal is diabolical and it kills any belief in resilience in our junior sportspeople.

Are our youngsters that sensitive that they’re unable to handle a defeat? I don’t think so, I believe they know the difference between winning and losing as well as losing badly.

Is it overbearing parents that can’t stand seeing their kid get pummelled on the scoreboard?

Possibly, but surely they should know it’s a good learning curve.

The only way to fix poor results is by pushing and working harder and the good times will eventually come.

Clubs could be punished for their sides winning too heavily.

You’ll love every second of every win and begin to cherish them more and more, compared to a side that has won consistently.

As a junior footballer, I played at a successful club which made finals each year.

I learned how to improve certain parts of game, but I never knew how to handle the tough times and crumbled under that pressure.

When you win, you’re satisfied with your job and sometimes you forget there’s still lessons to be learned.

But when you lose, it’s a sour feeling, you’re bitter and when you win a lot, you can become very entitled.

When I later played for a senior side which was struggling and getting belted each week, I took every loss on as a learning experience.

You’re desperate to improve and eventually when that result comes, you don’t take it for granted.

Junior football has seen the introduction of mercy rules and hiding ladder percentages recently.

This AFL Queensland proposal will kill the determination to improve and also cut down a footballer’s ruthless side, where they just want to put a side away.

On the field, sport is war. Pure and simple.

No matter if it’s at under 15 level, you want to beat that other side and you want to beat them good.

But with this proposal, you could be told by your coach at three-quarter-time when you’re up by 80 points to ‘take it easy’, which would be embarrassing.

Taking away that battle instinct will cripple the development of our next generation and sport as a whole will suffer for it.

Pull your heads in and let the kids learn, it’s better for the future of the sport.