Saving youth sports
This isn’t a surprising story, yet I think it’s worth mentioning. Recently our state had to enact a law in youth sports due to increasing violence against youth sports officials.
Not only is it necessary to protect the officials, it’s needed to increase our ability to get officials. If we don’t have officials to ref youth sports, we won’t have youth sports.
There are now several states that have this “2 strikes” rule. If a parent, coach, or player is so verbally or physically abusive that they need to be kicked out of a game, that district is given one strike. Two strikes in a season and your team forfeits the rest of the season.
Why are we so apoplectic during these games? Is it a protective mechanism with our kids? Is it misplaced anger?
The kids are watching. They think it’s cool, and are starting to emulate the same behavior.
You are welcome to volunteer
If you are too scared to help officiate in the first place, yet you feel the need to scream at the refs, mostly anonymously from the stands, then you are a coward. I’ve seen parents in their 30’s yelling at teenage volunteers.
You are more than welcome to volunteer to ref. In fact, the requirement for being allowed back into youth sports after an infraction should be mandatory reffing.
Then you could experience all the fun directly on the field.
Why sports in the first place?
I was recently listening to an hour interview with Tom Brady. (No, not with Jim Grey, the safest and most patronizing interviews ever). The interviewer is basically asking Brady where his athletic drive and success came from. Brady professed his love of youth sports, and how that was the foundation for skills and his future greatness (even if you hate Brady, insert your favorite).
Too late?
Our kids’ football games in other towns have been cancelled due to an inability to secure refs for the game. We (luckily) have some great, old school refs. Retirees. They have a very thick skin. I think they partially don’t care, and partially can’t hear what the fans are screaming. They don’t move very well though. I’m guessing each one has total joint replacements from their own football playing days.
Our local youth sport fields have signs up saying, “These are not professionals, This is not the Olympics” etc, as reminders.
If we don’t turn this narrative around into some shaming of poor parent behavior, we will not have any refs, and no youth sports.
All kids desperately need sports for character and physiological development.