I think this post is unbelievable. These are high school kids and the overall goal should be the same as any other high school sport. Among other things, participation in these events should encourage sportsmanship, dedication, discipline, and the proper way to conduct yourself on the water. Most of these kids appear to be learning none of these things based on my conversations with HS captains and my observations on the water

I played for Lewisville back in the mid/late 80�s. We won a championship or two. (Go Farmers!). I can tell you
Nobody was ever �cut�. They just never played. Lol.

I bet I could throw a football over those mountains!

Sorry, thought we needed a little break for a poor attempt at comedy!

Carry on with the

nothing wrong with HS fishing tournaments the way they are as far as I'm concerned. The way it has grown into what it is, is amazing really and a lot af credit is due to those who have worked to get it to where it is as well as they have.

I think it's a GREAT thing and I'm very glad to have been able to participate as a captain and work at the weigh ins in some SETX tournaments.
I hope it grows even bigger than it is now.

You may as well donate some time, effort and money into some of the youth fishing now so you can at least enjoy it and be a part of something special, because it wont be long before some of these kids are TAKING the money you donate to them as entry fees.
Most tournament fishermen are donators anyway so it should come natural and not be no big deal.

RIGHT!

People were cut when i played, but it was always for off field issues / non football related stuff. But rarely are people cut because they have to have replacements for the scout teams since #1 and #1 defense always runs them over

[quote=Douglas J] What happened to the discussion about the upside down little rowboat that reportedly was involved in a high school tournament?

I am not impressed. I guarantee I have fished well over half the amount of tournaments you fished, and I am assuming have probably faired better (but that is only an assumption). I still stand behind what I say. How do we expect the kids the learn when the ones captaining them aren't teaching them? I fish champs. and media, as well as the college FLW when I was in school and the issue starts from the top. Hate to tell you. Way too many of you guys (and yes I said YOU guys) think because you own a $70k boat, you're somebody, therefore you act like it. These kids see that, and naturally they follow suit. You wan't to have a qualifier for HS tournament? Go for it, I don't care. But maybe take a look in the mirror as to why some of these kids act the way they do. Also, we shouldn't be discouraging participation either. Just my opinion. Have fun being a career club guy winning $243 a year.

I captained for 4 years. I would have loved to have been able to cut a couple of kids. Turned every bait I had into a helicopter lure. I can still drive by some highline wires 4 years later and see my best buzzbaits.

THSBA has done a very good job overall and they have made changes due to the divisions growing so much. Houston division had two tournaments moved to Sam Rayburn due to Somerville and Lake Houston being too small with this years growth. I can tell you as a club advisor I haven�t always agreed 100% with everything the THSBA has done and recently had a conversation/disagreement regarding one of our club members that I kicked out of our club. But, it�s their tournament series and I respect what they do and if anyone doesn�t like it start your own series or fish another series. I think they have done a great job overall and these guys and ladies runnng the THSBA have volunteered hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of their own time, something a lot on here have not done.

Yes, there are boat captains that are brand new and a little clueless, much like all of us were at one time. There are also parents that have zero involvement in their kids fishing and don�t even know anything about the boat captain taking their kids out. Some have never even met the boat captain. Pretty pathetic and sad but it�s a fact, I�ve seen it personally. I have also seen parents go out and buy boats, new and old, so they could fish with their kid. Some parents had never fished but they got involved with their kids which is a great thing. Some need to stop bitching, get involved and offer to help, or shut up.

There are things I don�t like about high school fishing also but I�ve spent three years overseeing my sons club and helped him start it, I�ve tried to make a difference. There have been numerous times I wanted to shut the whole thing down due to parents being idiots and I mean complete idiots beyond belief. Seeing the kids that love the sport and observing the happiness it brings is the only reason I didn�t quit. Our particular school has zero involvement and I recently had to remind them they had zero oversight when a parent complained to the school then they decided they wanted a say in the matter. I informed them they were welcome to take the club over or otherwise they had zero control over the club. High School fishing isn�t going anywhere except it�s going to get larger and larger each year. You can either sit on the sidelines and bitch or volunteer and possibly help out a local club. Seems like a few just want to constantly condemn the youth no matter what they do. You complain if they sit home on their phone and also complain because they like the outdoors and fishing. Maybe you should get off your computer yourself and do something to make a difference.

I get a good chuckle when the same guys that share memes on Facebook with some version of the "No participation trophies for snowflakes" rhetoric totally change their tune when it comes to participation in high school fishing tournaments (especially if their kid is involved)

A qualifying system and limited fields seems like a reasonable thing to impose and a valuable life lesson/experience for the kids

Please point out the qualifying system for other local trails to help them limit the field. Why are people arguing that participation IS a trophy. The trophies go to the winners, just like any real sport. What I find funny are the people who call kids today "snowflakes" (which I totally agree with) and then in the next breathe talk about how we shouldn't be putting kids out in tournaments with 20 MPH forecasted winds.

By the way, the division tournaments are the qualifying events. This is not a tough concept to follow.

When did PARTICIPATION become a TROPHY, this argument has been mentioned a few times and the absolute lack of logic to it is just astounding.

There are several differences between local trails and high school tournaments - most significant of which being the high school students. Another big difference is who can, and should, be held accountable for poor behavior on the water in either case.

Participation in a local trail requires resources - time and money. Participation in high school tournaments just requires talking someone into taking you out on their boat. Unlimited participation teaches the kids that if they want to participate in something - mommy and daddy will make it happen.

PARTICIPATION in high school sports has always been a point of pride. Anyone can join the team, only a few actually get to see playing time.

Got it, so your argument is that as an adult participation is not a trophy, but if you are in high school then being able to participate in something is a trophy. You also believe that every participant in an adult tournament has the same amount of investment and boat ownership as everyone else. And finally that if mom and dad provide for there kid to fish it is wrong, but no mention of whether it would be ok for the parents to invest in lets say Club baseball, nice cleats, top of the line bat, best club coach, etc.

"PARTICIPATION in high school sports has always been a point of pride." ..... We certainly cant have that privilege available to all kids, this is "pride" is reserved those 04champ believes deserving. Could you imagine if one of these undeserving kids actually enjoyed themselves? No sir, not on my waters.