When they pulled away in the second half for a 5-2 win on November 9, the Jamaica High School boys’ soccer team made a big mess of a potentially interesting story. A relatively young PSAL rule — one that requires high school players to show their student ID cards before each game — could have played a deciding factor in the outcome of the ‘B’ city championship.
Two of Jamaica’s best players, sophomore forward Rori Georg Byrd and junior goalkeeper Trevor Paddy, did not have their cards on hand, and they were unable to enter the game until they produced them. The prospect of two players working hard all season, only to miss out on the final battle, is scary. Even when Byrd and Paddy found their IDs, Jamaica had missed out on about 30 minutes of their services.
Had they not found a way to return to the field, Jamaica could have paid a big price. The Beavers were losing 1-0 when Byrd and Paddy entered the game. As soon as Byrd returned, he scored, then scored again minutes later. After Paddy returned, he never gave up a single goal — excepting, of course, a penalty kick that came about when Paddy tripped up a Hillcrest attacker while smothering the ball.
“For some years it has been standard procedure for club team players to show identification before the start of the game,” PSAL soccer coordinator Lance Hermus said via e-mail. “The PSAL implemented this rule at the start of the last girls’ season.”
Jamaica overcame Byrd and Paddy’s disappearance the same way Hillcrest overcame goalkeeper Celestino Garcia’s injury: by shifting around good players who really belong in their natural positions. Andrew Huntington, a star defender, moved into Hillcrest’s goal; Dan Chevau Brown (doing the “captain thing to do,” in his words) did the same, meaning that two of Jamaica’s everyday forwards were nowhere to be found.
And what happened? Hillcrest’s defense fell apart in Huntington’s absence. Jamaica’s disorganized attack racked up about seven offside calls in the first half, absent Byrd and Brown. When Brown finally returned to the offense, he, too, scored two goals.
As for the ID card rule, it was accepted by coaches when discussed at PSAL clinics, and no complaints from Jamaica coach Dave Soverall emerged at game time. Certainly all responsibility for the mistake lies with Byrd and Paddy.
A question to consider, though: Is this a good rule? How should concerns for security and identity — presumably the ID card policy’s reason for existence — stack up against letting the players play when it comes to high school sports?
Post a Comment