A statement from HBC All*Stars coaching staff

Over the past couple days, many friends and parents have reached out to us and have suggested that we put out a statement to clear the air regarding comments that were directed at our staff in the Blogosphere, concerning the events that occurred during the LI CUP game on May 6th, 2012.

This will be the only time we formally put out our side of the story! We have taking some time and reviewed some of the posts and statements on the thread. While we will not address every single post, we will try to touch up on a few statements and accusations made exclusively towards our staff.

On the day in question, our team The HBC All*Stars and The East Islip Explosion Boys played a very competitive first half as expected from both teams. Suddenly, at the end of the half time break, our boys were ready to step into the field when the referee informed us that East Islip coaches wanted to move the second half to another field. Right away we advised the referee of our intention and readiness to continue playing on the current field where we originally started. The referee suggested that we should tell East Islip. We objected to that and advised the Referee that since he was the messenger, he should be the one to return the message. At the same time we noticed the temporary goals were being removed and two other teams and different sets of referees were coming to the field and asking us to leave. Before taking our boys off the field we ask our game referee what the outcome of the game would be. He stated that our boys will be awarded a 1-0 forfeit. At that point we pulled our boys off the field and released them to their parents.

We were contacted by cup coordinator for the age group recently and we were asked to replay the game. Our understanding is that the league made the decision based on the referee report. Apparently the referee reported that he had inspected another field and that our team refused to play. While we have not seen the report, it is our understanding that there were no mention of his statement to us on the field regarding the forfeit and our option not to move if we didn't want to.

We have respectfully declined to let our boys replay the game and informed the league through the coordinator that we didn’t have a problem if they league let the East Islip boys move on to the next round. To date, our boys have played 16 and a half games 13-2-1 record not counting that last half game thus far this spring; with another 12 games on the schedule to be played by June 24. Not counting if they continue to progress in the State Cup.

To respond to the question of: why didn’t we simply move to the other field and play the other half? Well, we have been around this game for a longtime, a combined close to 75 years experience there are no precedents for such situation as far as we know. If the field is playable, we shouldn’t have to move. The other game should have been delayed! It is highly likely that some of the infantile statements, accusations and insults directed at our staff in this blog came directly from some of the misguided souls from East Islip. Prior to the game, our coach walked over to their bench, shook hands with their staff and the substitute players and wished them good luck. If there was a “field problem” they could have easily approached us and informed us of this issue like adults. Consequently, our response and approach would have been totally different. FIFA’s “My Game is Fair Play” in short stipulates whether you like your opponents or not, you must respect and be courteous to them. One of the Fair play codes for coaches stated “The Coach’s conduct toward other coaches must be characterized by courtesy, good faith and respect”.

On the statement that” we were afraid to finish a 1-1 game”, we don’t play the game, the boys do. They were ready to play. They always look forward to playing opponents like the East Islip boys because it is always a fun, up-tempo, competitive game (although we cannot really say that for the lopsided victory the previous Saturday). But Kudos to the East Islip boys, they were the better side that day!

In summation, I doubt many teams play as many games as our boys. The decision not to play one half is not a matter of being scared, wanting to win or poor sportsmanship on our part. Rather, our underlying principle is to make sure our boys understand the importance of not only sportsmanship and fair play, but also to protect one of the team's core values which is mutual RESPECT. What we hope to teach our boys from this situation is simple, if your opponent does not respect you; they are not a worthy opponent. This is our take; we leave the rest to the independent observers to make their own judgments.

Respectfully yours,

HBC All*Stars