So it had to come to this. In Neenah this weekend, parents at youth soccer games were banned from yelling anything from the sidelines. No “RUN! RUN! RUN!” to kids that may have forgotten how to move about on the field. No “SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT!” directed at players who may not know how to score. And no “HOW CAN YOU NOT CALL THAT [EXPLETIVE] [EXPLETIVE] [EXPLETIVE] FOUL? ARE YOU [EXPLETIVE] BLIND?!?!?!
As I tell anyone that asks me about my experiences in youth sports, I tell them the only thing wrong with it is the adults. I think that kids are willing to accept some errors from officials during games–since they themselves make mistakes on the field or the floor too. But when adults from the stands make every call against their child sound like the greatest affront to justice in the history of mankind, the players learn less respect for authority as well.
I’ve heard just about every possible insult and profanity you can imagine come from parents and fans at youth sporting events. But I’m 45-years old, and I can tune that garbage out. The reason Neenah Youth Soccer put a gag order on parents this weekend is because the refs working their games are teenagers–players in the same program getting experience in a different aspect of the game and likely making some money as well. This is common in many youth sports programs with older kids working contests for little kids.
But how interested would you be in helping the program when five or six grown men and women spend the entire contest yelling at you? Of course, those five or six adults are also spending the entire game yelling at their own kids, the other kids and the coaches too–because six-year old girls soccer is without a doubt, the most intense sport on earth and is a matter of life or death. Interestingly, some of the kids that were interviewed after their much quieter games admitted it was easier to concentrate on the game and what their coaches were yelling from the sidelines, without Mom and Dad constantly calling after them.
Do I think all youth sports leagues should have “silent fan” policies in place? No way. In putting a gag order on all comments from the bleachers, you also take away the positive reinforcement of a “good hustle” or “nice pass” that kids like to hear from their parents. If anything, parents and fans should police themselves–telling Mr Every Call the Ref Makes Against Us Is Wrong to sit his butt down and to shut his mouth because the only thing he is accomplishing is to embarrass himself and his child.
