This article is one of the winning presentations of the New York Post academic contest, presented by Command Education.
Do you remember when youth sports meant fun and teamwork … is not a reality fight? In these days there is more action apart than between the lines, and it is time for a drastic change.
While playing in the Dallas Cup, a high -level youth soccer tournament, a disagreement in the bank on a Vuvuzela exploded in a Battle Royale. We played since the parents were literally handcuffed to the golf carts while the police waited for the backup. It was the chaos of real life, and was as disturbing as ridiculous. But this was a unique show; It is part of a disturbing trend that is tasks about youth sports.
In a tournament in Denmark, a father turned his son’s game time, verbally threatening the coach in half a time. Then he was seen filling his pockets with rocks and stones, presumable to throw the coach. And after the final beep exploded, the players were forced to physically contain the father who was drowning the coach. The Danish tournament officials, so surprised by the events, were not recorded in the safety of the players.
Unfortunately, these are only two or many of those experiences that I have while playing football. When parents cross the line of a fan of support to a harmful provocateur, the benefits of youth sports (teamwork, resistance and enjoyment) or lost. On the other hand, young athletes are disappointed and, in the worst cases, they completely move away from sports and athletics. It is difficult to concentrate on the game and build a camarady with your teammates when your father is handcuffed to a golf cart or other players impose on the coach!
What are these toxic nonsense feeding? The researchers noticed in 1995 that the competitiveness and marketing of youth sports had led to a more pressurized environment. The parents saw more and more the sports success of their children as a reflection of their own status and aspirations. This led to more aggressive and survived behavior. Young sports participants intuitively know that the situation has Gooths worse, so much so that it is spreading a sufficient number of referees. In a 2023 survey of 36,000 referees, 69% say that sportsmanship is getting worse with 50% feeling insecure.
The introduction of null money causes the backdrop to be even more bleak. The delusional parents, once aiming at university scholarships or professional contracts, now see a path to a previous payment day. The result? Rather intensifying competition. Parents demand a faster success of their children. And overtime are working to make similarity, if not reality, or success in social networks in a zero sum battle for Eyalls. The result is far from developing a love for the game.
Unfortunately, this pressure pot environment results in ferwer athletes that stay with their sports. A six -year longitudinal study showed that only 39% of last year high school students participated in organized sports versus 90% in seventh and eighth grade. And what about the sport of sport for those who play continuous?
It’s time to defend change. Youth sports must be about children and build our school community, not parents’ egos.
Here is a two -part game plan to clean the act:
First, parents must sign a promise: Pinkry provides a clear set of guidelines for parents’ behavior in sporting events in the athletics manual. However, the Sports Government Body of High School (NJSIAA in the case of our football program) should require parents in all schools to sign a contract with respect to their behavior as spectators and fans. The contract must detail the benefits of youth sports, damage based on the behavior of the toxic lateral line, a clear code of conduct and the consequences of breaking the commitment. I think the contract must be linked to the participation of their children in sport. No contract, without participation.
Next, there must be a zero tolerance responsibility: a signed promise will achieve little without real consequences. Any infraction should lead to the expulsion of parents from the facilities and the loss of game time for the child. In soccer terms, if a father receives a red card, the student athlete should also do it. Repeated infractions should lead to permanent expulsion from the cost, with only rescue sanctions, to and including the elimination of the child’s child, if necessary. Referees and coaches must be empowered to enforce these consequences.
When a Tiger father runs the risk of losing his children’s game, the message is crystalline. In the Dallas Cup, the handcuffed parents tensed the neck to see the rest of their children’s games from their imprisoned position. However, when a father risks his children’s play time, the message is really unmistakable. In Denmark, the father who drowned the coach later begged the coach to allow his son to continue playing in the tournament. It is likely that the children’s position on the team is the only thing we can put in the line to which the worst parents will respond.
Enough is enough. The only battles in youth sports should be in the countryside. Let’s go back to children over parents’ egos.
A ninth grade student at the Pongry school in Bernards Township, NJ, Martarrano dreams of a sports management career.
