Achievement and Talent Benched
In a similar vein as the warped concept that all students deserve a passing grade, or that every young athlete deserves a trophy, comes news that a football player has been benched for scoring too many touchdowns.
In this case, it’s 11-year-old Demias Jimerson from Malvern, AK, where officials have reinstated what’s known as the Madre Hill Rule, named after the standout Razorback running back.
Like Jimerson, Hill attended Wilson Intermediate School and dominated the football field so thoroughly, the league invoked what came to be known as the Madre Hill Rule. Once Hill scored three touchdowns, if his team had a 14-point lead, officials banned him from scoring any more touchdowns. Now, for the first time since, the Wilson Intermediate Football League is using the Madre Hill rule again — to tackle Demias Jimerson.
“I got, kinda got shocked because I didn’t know that was gonna happen, but it did,” said Jimerson. Adding, “I’m ok with it.”
Principal Bryant, the defacto commissioner of the Wilson Intermediate Football League, says the rule isn’t meant to punish Jimerson. It’s there to help the other fifth and sixth graders on the field develop as football players too.
“The other players on both teams, 21 are just left sort of, this is all Demias,” she said. “So that’s why the Madre Hill Rule has been implemented.”
But the Madre Hill rule is only for fifth and sixth grades. Next year, Jimerson goes to seventh grade.
“I’m gonna run hard and bring our team to victory,” said Jimerson. Then he added, “but God always comes first, before anything, and grades second.”
The piece goes on to note that Jimerson has already played in several games this season, scoring seven touchdowns in one of those tilts, before the Madre Hill Rule was invoked. Jimerson’s team – wait for it – is undefeated.
While Jimerson is apparently OK with a rule that limits his natural abilities and talents, it begs the question: what kind of lesson is it teaching the rest of the players, not to mention coaches? That individual success and achievement is to be harnessed to level the playing field for all?
And while the send-a-player-to-the-bench-for-scoring-too-many-touchdowns rule only applies for fifth- and sixth-grade athletics, this year, what’s to say it won’t be bumped next year to cover seventh and eighth grades, if Jimerson or some other player is running wild? High school ball? Junior college ball?
If coaches want to stop a particular player from scoring touchdowns, crafting defensive schemes that better use the talents and strengths of their own teams would seem more appropriate and instructive than using a punitive rule to send a star player from the opposing team to the bench.
In any case, it’s heartening to see that at least one 11-year-old student athlete has his off-the-field priorities straight. Hope they stay that way.
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