Ok....Debate over this topic.
When I have coached at different levels of sports (basketball, football and baseball) I have been destroyed and I have destroyed teams. I have tried to take it easy on bad teams but my players get lazy and develop bad habits while playing to the level of the competition. IMO
I play my second or third team but then my name 5 or 6 do not get any work. Some games they only get 5 to 8 minutes and they are done. I have put them back in and told them to just work the ball around with no shots, I have called them off and said no blocking shots or stealing the ball.
BUT what is that really teaching them? Is that Good sportsmanship? I thought so and still do a little bit. I have never had a problem with teams kicking the crap out of us because I think it gave us drive to work harder and compete the next time we faced each other.
At the high school level I see some of these scores and don't like some of the blow outs. BUT don't the kids that are on varsity and have put the work in deserve to play as well. Telling them not to be aggressive is the wrong message to send these kids.
I had a football game where every time our kids hit someone they fumbled and I told them they could not pick it up and run it in. I had the our kids let them recover it. It has 35 to 0 at half time. My main back's had 4 carries for 4 touchdowns.
Thoughts