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Parent's Training
     Goals
     Elements
Coach's Training
Officials' Training
Designating Spectator Areas
Protecting Young Officials
The Value Of Positive Peer Pressure

To create the best possible environment for youth sports requires cooperation and coordination between parents, coaches, and game officials that can only be achieved through education.

Fundamental to improving the youth sport atmosphere is educating parents. Training can help bring parents more in tune with their reasons for having their child involved in youth sports. Properly trained, parents will commit to following a standard of behavior that will be healthy for their child as well as the other youth participants in the game. Through parent training, a positive healthy atmosphere can be created on the sidelines.

Parent education should have three goals:

1. Highlight the values of youth sports
   
   
2. Educate parents about the specific rules of youth sport
   
   
3. Obtain the commitment of parents to display only positive behaviors at youth sport contests.

Extensive training is required because:

• Limited training only permits a focus on parents' negative behavior and the setting of minimum standards for parents' conduct.
  
  

• More extensive training permits the youth sports organization to actually improve the quality of parent involvement by:

  • Teaching parents about the special rules of youth sports
    
    

  • Allowing them to assess their own behavior on the sidelines, and
    
    

  • Helping parents learn new skills to deal with the stress that they invariably experience when they attend youth sports contests.

Mandatory training is required. If a parent wants their child to be part of the sport program, he or she must participate. If participation is required for all parents, they will all have a stake in achieving a positive outcome.

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Article Updated: August 25, 2007

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