Training the Parent for Sport

Training the Parent for Sport

Imagine a beautiful spring afternoon at a community soccer match for young children in the area. The game begins with an enjoyable and exciting atmosphere. The kids are running their hearts out chasing down the ball and the parents watching seem so incredibly proud of their little Johnny or little Suzy. Everyone seems to be having fun. Then, simply be accident, one of the players trips and falls on the field. He or she gets up unhurt but the player’s parent is sent into a torrent yelling and screaming that their child’s fall was a result of foul play. The parent becomes louder and when the coach tries to calm the parent down, the parent throws a punch at the coach. A fight ensues, the game is halted, and everyone goes home disappointed and discouraged by the day’s events.

As coaches I realize many of you may not have seen with your own eyes a parent’s obnoxious behavior escalate to such irrational violence, but you have seen disruptive and rude behavior in parents attending your games. This is a serious problem and is becoming more and more prevalent. While there are no official statistics on the amount of violence involving parents at youth sporting events, the examples are numerous. A Sarasota father was arrested after storming the field and punching the referee during his son’s flag football game (Elvin 3). Other incidents reported last year include “a soccer mother in Greensboro, NC was charged with assault after hitting a referee after a game. A father in Cleveland punched a 15-year-old boy during a soccer game because he felt the player had pushed his son” (Stewart 1) and, probably the most familiar case, Thomas Junta was charged with manslaughter af...

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...al behavior. This training class is the best possible way to fix this problem. Sports are supposed to encompass learning to work together as a team, sportsmanship, and trying your hardest, not the pressure that an obnoxious parent can put on a game. Engh highlights the importance of the training program so as to “ensure that all children have fun and rewarding experiences. After all, that’s what sports are all about!” (Sachs 3).

Works Cited

Elvin, John. “New Penalties for Being a Bad Sport.” Insight on the News . V17 (April 23, 2002): 35.

Robinson, Bryan. “More Lessons Needed.” ABCNews.com. http://abcnews.go.com/ Sections/us/DailyNews/sportsviolence020114.html . (February 17, 2002).

Sachs, Michael L. “Lighten up, Parents!” USA Today . Nov. 2000: 62.

Stewart, Mark. “Good Sports?” Insight on the News . V16 (June 19, 2000): 28.