Do Teams Need Rules of Etiquette?

Michael Ko, Seattle Times
The Seattle Times

Kim Michel, who coached the Juanita High School girls basketball team for three years, recalls the frustration and disbelief she felt late last season when an opposing squad, up 29 points going into the fourth quarter, kept its starters in for the rest of the game.

"When that game was over, that was the most emotional I've been towards another coach," Michel says. "My players in the locker room were devastated. Their heads were down. They were crying. I was wondering, 'Are they going to quit?' "

Michel's bitter memory raises an interesting question, brought to light last month when Woodinville's fastpitch softball team beat Franklin 64-0 in a KingCo 4A Conference game:

Is there such a thing as proper etiquette in a blowout?

The answer isn't easy -- according to several local high-school coaches -- and involves complicated factors like sportsmanship, respecting the game, managing emotions and figuring out what you should tell your back-ups.

"It's a raw topic. I don't think anyone wants to be on either end of that," says Terry Ennis, Archbishop Murphy football coach and athletic director, who has coached for four decades. "But [blowouts] have occurred and will occur, and each coach needs to decide in their own mind if they've done the right thing or not."

Blowouts are already regulated to some degree. Mercy rules exist in some sports. For example, fastpitch softball games are called off early if one team is up 10 runs or more after five innings.

KingCo 4A fastpitch coaches voted to add a 15-run, three-inning gap to the 10- run standard after the Woodinville-Franklin game. That proposal is still being considered by the conference's administrators.