Last weekend, while watching my nephew’s youth hockey game, I noticed a sign on the glass next to the bleachers. This is what was written there:
Let the referee judge
Let the coach coach you
Let the players play
You are… Cheerleader
I’ve seen reminders of a similar perspective many times over the years while watching my own sons play the game. The message highlights what has become a national narrative about spectators: parents who behave badly at their children’s sporting events.
However, the fine print in the note was a warning: “Please remember that this is private property and you may be asked to leave at any time for any reason.”
Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton and other youth coaches in Atlanta were not only asked to leave a youth football event after being involved in an amazing and horrifying brawl last weekend. They were removed after security forces forcefully pried them apart.
This fight, which started on the stairs and swung against the fences amidst violent thrusts and punches, further highlighted what’s wrong with our children’s sport. We know that parents can be overbearing and even physically and verbally abusive towards coaches and officials.
But this story isn’t just about parents.it is all Adults who are ruining youth sports for our children.
Newton and other adults who run a youth sports organization engage in a brawl in front of parents and children. The adults coach the kids, but the kids feel like they’re playing against each other or sitting across from each other in the stands, and their egos are at risk. Adults monetize these same children in so-called “select” or “elite” paid teams.
Adults join these teams at events such as “by invitation only.” weeball sports newton tournament C1N football team I participated last weekend.
“I think this is about society in general,” said Todd Nelson, assistant director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. “You know, for the last four or five years, people have felt like they should be able to speak their mind and do what they want and there should be no consequences for it. I think that’s unfortunate. Because I think they were taking that freedom.” We do that as a society, as Americans, and they took it to the extreme. ”
Sports officials are concerned about safety at youth sporting events
I spoke to Nelson last year to discuss how unruly behavior by spectators, especially parents, is causing a national shortage of sports officials. He wasn’t even talking about the physical violence we’ve seen at some youth sporting events.
Sunday’s scuffle involved Newton, 34, and at least two other coaches. These coaches were from his TSP (TopShelf Performance), his national 18U 7-on-7 football program. A source told The Athletic.. At the end of one battle video, As Sporting News pointed outNewton yells to someone off camera, “I got you something,” hinting at more violence.
Unfortunately, violence by adults at youth sporting events is nothing new. There are also numerous stories in Florida of disgruntled parents throwing punches at sports officials. IndianaMississippi, California.
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Guns also appeared. In the summer of 2022, the younger brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib has pleaded guilty to murdering an opposing coach in a horrific incident in Texas. Last October, a soccer coach for 9- and 10-year-old boys was shot four times in St. Louis by a parent who appeared to be angry that the coach had put his son on the team. Thankfully, the coach survived.
Reading about incidents like this reminds me of the spring of 2022. My then 14-year-old son was about to attend a baseball doubleheader in Northern Virginia. The match was canceled because Shooting on the sideline of a youth flag football game At a nearby school, yes, in the middle of a fight between adults.
Watching children play games brings out the worst qualities of us and society.
“They’re robbing kids of a moment,” one soccer official, Brian Barlow, said in an interview. HBO sports documentary about violence against referees. (Note: Video contains profanity.)
Coach Steve details: 70% of children leave youth sports by age 13. Here’s how to resolve the issue:
Two New Jersey lacrosse umpires I interviewed last year said they feared for their safety as they walked through rowdy crowds to their cars after games.
Gary Herjo, who has worked as a high school and youth lacrosse official for 20 years, said, “So far I’ve been lucky not to have been physically assaulted, but I’m being more cautious after contests. I’d rather not be.” talk.
in Survey of 36,000 sports professionals In a survey conducted last year by the National Sports Officials Association, 50% of men and women at all levels of sports surveyed said they had felt unsafe on the job.
Almost 50% of officials responding to the NASO survey said sportsmanship was worst at the “youth competition” (travel) level.
Adults invest not only their emotions but also their financial power in children’s games.
Some of these coaches charge thousands of dollars a year for your child to play on their team. They run these businesses full-time and depend on them for their livelihood. They pull players out of each other and get furious at each other for the act. It’s big business that takes advantage of and sometimes exploits our children.
In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, Adam Jahn, former GM of the elite junior hockey team in Ontario, Canada, mentioned the recent accomplishments of TSN’s Rick Westhead. When researching teams in the Greater Toronto Hockey League.
Westhead sparked an investigation into team finances by the GTHL. This followed complaints by parents that player fees and donations to the U12 club were not properly accounted for.
“We have to ask ourselves: Are we doing this for the kids? Are we doing it to make dreams come true, or are we doing this in a former volunteer coaching capacity to help kids?” “Are there people who are participating in this activity not only to educate themselves, but also to make money?” says Jahn. “Parents are putting pressure on their kids, but who else is benefiting financially from that? Have you gone back to thinking, “What’s in it for me?”
Coaches and parents can get heated because they’re not only watching their kids, but they’re also investing a lot of money financially. But if doing so doesn’t keep the adults running the show from behaving, what can we really mortgage?
Last December, a video of a fight between referees at a boys basketball game in Colorado went viral. As the official pool declines across the country, less qualified umpires, in this case badly behaved umpires, are being hired.
The foundation, which hosted the game, told TMZ, “We have notified these independent contract employees that they will be suspended indefinitely from working for the Gold Crown Foundation.” “Most importantly, we apologize to everyone who had to witness their unacceptable behavior, especially children.”
All adults who are supposed to be leaders in children’s sports need to take this message to heart. If there were any adults left.
Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer for USA TODAY since 1999. He coached his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams for 10 years. He and his wife Colleen are now high school and middle school sports parents. His column appears weekly. Click here for past columns.
Have a question you’d like Coach Steve to answer in a column? Email him sborelli@usatoday.com
