Comments on: Voluntary vs mandatory camps – Parcells/Lewis overboard http://packergeeks.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/voluntary-vs-mandatory-camps-parcellslewis-overboard/ All Things Green Bay Packers Tue, 21 May 2013 08:09:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: awhayes http://packergeeks.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/voluntary-vs-mandatory-camps-parcellslewis-overboard/#comment-1728 Fri, 23 May 2008 16:28:18 +0000 http://packergeeks.wordpress.com/?p=790#comment-1728 Joe,
Interesting points, but I disagree. Regardless of the reason for calling these camps voluntary, they are called voluntary (including the Bengals camp), so technically Thurman should not need to account for his whereabouts (though I do agree here, a phone call wouldn’t have hurt). And, while your basketball example is understood, those were still voluntary practices – you didn’t have to go and your coach shouldn’t have judged you on whether you went or not, but on how you played when it was mandatory. I did the same thing with soccer. We were “highly encouraged” to play club soccer in the spring, but the high school coach couldn’t mandate it. I actually chose not to, and rightfully, it didn’t affect me negatively at all because it was “voluntary” and I just made sure I was prepared come fall.

]]> By: Joe http://packergeeks.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/voluntary-vs-mandatory-camps-parcellslewis-overboard/#comment-1727 Fri, 23 May 2008 16:07:17 +0000 http://packergeeks.wordpress.com/?p=790#comment-1727 I have to completely disagree. They are called voluntary only because the labor deal prevents them from being mandatory. They are not called voluntary because there not important. We used to have voluntary basketball practices before the official WIAA season started – my teammates and I (at ages 14-18) were smart enough to figure out that they were really mandatory in the sense that if you weren’t there coach would know and it would count against you.

I have no tolerance for this kinds of stuff. I get that his grandmother died and it was right to be with family at that point in time. But did she die in the only place on the planet without a phone? He couldn’t call and say, “I was planning to come. I understand the importance of being there but Grandma just died and I need to be here right now.” The entire issue would have been avoided with a phone call that any 16 year kid would have enough common sense to place.

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