Before I start…Greg is in Special Olympics. Today he had a bowling tournament, won a gold medal and is headed for state! Woohoo!
At the tourney, there was a rule that no parents could go into the bowling area. Now I know why! There were moms (and dads) who just couldn’t leave their kids alone. I mean, they were yelling at them from the sidelines if they didn’t knock down pins, if they didn’t pick up spares, things like that!
One mom was yellng at her girl when she’d swing her arms more than once! I heard her say, “Good! She did it. She knew I’d yell at her if she didn’t.” OMG! I wasn’t close enough to yell at her and I didn’t want to ruin the day for the kids, and people around her just gave her dirty looks. She didn’t care…she looked all smug, like, “Look at me! I have power! I am yelling at my kid!”. There were others, too. Coaches didn’t say anything because they were in the bowling area and couldn’t hear anything because they went lane to lane and didn’t catch it all.
I mean REALLY! This is supposed to be FUN! How dare they yell at the kids and make them a wreck? No wonder they didn’t perform as well as they could! Geez! If my mom ever did that when I was growing up, I’d be too busy crying to do a good job (thank god she wasn’t like that!). When the kids go to state, no parents are allowed to ride with them, stay in the hotel with them, or eat with them. The parents can only be there for the actaul tourney. The kids will be with the other kids, the coaches,and chaperones only the rest of the time. When I first heard that I objected but I see their point now. Besides, I think he’d have fun without mom hanging around.
Anyway, this is for that lady…POW! SLUG! SLAP!
MaryAnn
More woman than you’ll ever inflate!
The same thing happens in soccer. Parents stand on the sidelines and yell at their kids telling them what to do. They don’t ever seem to realize that a) the kids probably can’t hear them b) if they can hear them they don’t care or c) the parents are yelling for them to do the wrong things. I’ve played soccer for years and only once did I ever see a coach do anything about this. My father would pass out an information sheet at the beginning of the year with the last item being “Don’t yell to your kids on the field. Cheer for them, but don’t tell them what to do or yell at them for making a mistake.” He also gave out a Family Circus (I think) comic with Billy looking at a professional soccer game and saying “I know why they’re so good. Their parents aren’t there yelling at them.” Or something like that.
The other annoying thing everybody (parents, kids and coaches) does at soccer games is yell at the ref. I have refereed for a few years and frankly I (and the rest of the refs) don’t care in the least what you yell at us. If you yell too much though, we will throw you out. Our decisions are final and we have the power to call the game off if you argue and don’t leave if we tell you to. If you want to complain get the refs name and contact the league that is running the game or the referee coordinator and tell them. Most of the time they’ll automatically side for the ref because the ref knows the rules a lot better than any parent or player. But if it is bad enough the next few games of that ref will probably be watched by an undercover ref assessor who can decide if the ref is doing his job correctly.
Wow - my son is starting soccer this Spring, and now I’m worried. Is this the sort of stuff I have to look forward to? What a shame. I thought that sports were supposed to be a positive thing for kids, to teach them about teamwork and good sportsmanship and all that other good stuff.
And at the Special Olympics! Sorry, I’m still shaking my head over that one.
Tatertot- All you have to do to make it better is not be an asshole. 
It shouldn’t be too hard to stay positive. Also teach your son to respect the referee. They’re the ones in charge of the whole thing If ther parents bug you speak to them or tell the coach. The coach should take care of it. If he doesn’t talk to the league. They’ll love you for caring enough to go see them. Finally make sure your coach realizes that it’s just a game. If he’s too vocal to the kids or the ref just tell him that you have a concern. If worst comes to worst you can always offer to coach the next year. That way you’ll be sure that your kids coach is good.
I coach little league baseball, just completing my 8th season (4 years). I can tell you from experience that there are some kids I will NOT have on my team because of attitude, either their’s or their parents’. I’m not talking about occasional tantrums, I’m talking about sustained behaviour year in, year out. Some of these kids are excellent players, and could make the difference in winning the championship. I don’t care. They will not play for me.
I disagree with Headless Cow on some points, at least in baseball, where the spectators tend to be closer to the players:
They DO hear, and it hurts. I have seen kids upset to the point of tears because of a parent’s thoughtless yelling. My first season I coached a young with loads of potential, a real baseball natural. He quit at the end of that season because he couldn’t take his perfectionist Dad yelling incessantly. He finally came back 3 years later after his Dad promised not to be such an ass (a promise he kept, BTW). I drafted him, but 3 years lost at that age (8-9) is a huge mountain to overcome.
They care deeply what Mom and Dad think. See above.
Now you’ve hit the nail on the head. If you want to coach, volunteer. We always end up short of coaches anyway. Otherwise, sit in the stands and be supportive of ALL the players, coaches, and officials.
My son is a very gifted baseball player. I am his coach and his Dad. In both roles I want to help improve his skills as much as possible. I have to be very careful, though, not to drive him too hard. He has to furnish the drive, my job is to keep him challenged. Much easier said than done, but I’m trying.
The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik
Because my husband is a sports nut and loves soccer, I am doomed to be a soccer mom. ( A moment of silence for me please) I won’t yell at my child from the sidelines for screw ups, I will encourage them to " BEAT THE CRAP OUTTA #12. DOG 'EM…THAT’S THE WAY. "
Then I will beam at the other distraught parents and say, “That’s my daughter. her name is Thor.she wants to be a prison guard when she grows up.”
I was extremely competitive in volleyball and always won accolades for diving into the stands to save a wayward ball. So, I expect this kind of kamikaze thing with my kids. Hubby played soccer ( goalie) and rugby in college, so our wiring isn’t up to code.
However, there was an incident when hubby and I were dating that told us that there are some nutjob ultra competitive parents living vicariously through there kids that taught us a huge lesson. We were in Indiana ( Indy, I think) and we decided to stop in to an ice arena to watch a pee wee championsip hockey game. A couple of opposing team parents got into in the stands two rows a head of us. I mean SCREAMING AT EACH OTHER. Then we noticed one of the dads had a concealed gun on him ( belt holster on the back of his belt.) Our friend we were there with mentioned that Indiana does not have concealed gun laws and that that guy probably was not a cop by the way his hand was resting casually on the gun. WE beat it outta there PDQ, lemme tell you.
More parents have ruined the game of sport than anything else and it’s sad, we’ve come so far in so many arenas socially to preach tolerance and whatnot, but parents can humiliate their kids over something as stupid as a sporting event.
I read a newstory on the AP wire recently that talked about one league that decided to ban parents yelling at their kids as an experiement. They were allowed to cheer they kids on but they could not yell advice, etc. By all accounts, everybody enjoyed the game more.
Some people get way too wound up in their kid’s performance. I guess the parents forget their kids are in the game not THEM.
One more reason I’m proud to be a Clevelander:
"WILLOUGHBY, Ohio - The father of a high school soccer player pleaded not guilty Tuesday to punching his son’s opponent during a game.
George Telidis, 40, of Rocky River entered his plea in Willoughby Municipal Court. If found guilty of the assault charge, Telidis faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Telidis said he became upset watching a 15-year-old Eastlake North High School player pushing around his son, who plays for Bay High School in Bay Village. Telidis is accused of running onto the field and punching the North player during the Sept. 27 game.
The player suffered a cut lip, but the North coach said he wasn’t sure if the cut came from the punch or a brief fight between the two players after they jostled for the ball. Both players were ejected. "
In soccer the field can between 50 and 100 yards wide. With teamates and opponents yelling while you are running it is rather hard to hear people well enough to put together a coherent sentence from this far away. The not caring happens more when they become a teenager and have played for 4-5 years and realize that their parent doesn’t really know what they’re talking about.