Sideline Behavior

Everyone involved in youth sports has a role to play: players play; coaches coach; officials officiate; and spectators sit in the stands or stand on the sidelines and cheer positively. Nine out of ten incidents of bad sportsmanship occurs where people stray from their role. If everyone followed the golden rule of sportsmanship - to know their role and stay within it - the result would be fewer people misbehaving at youth sports competitions.

Good sideline behavior by parents sets the right example for your
children. Here are some ways you can demonstrate good sportsmanship on the sidelines at your child's game.

I believe we all want to be good parents. We encourage our children's participation in sports because we believe they (and us) benefit through their involvement in the group experience. We want to believe that our attendance and support helps our children play better on the field. Most of us want what is best for our children on the athletic field. We want a positive environment that teaches the values of positive sportsmanship.

This is one challenge from which, I believe, we should not back down if we hope to change how parents behave on the youth sports sidelines. The need for a change in parent behavior is well documented. Simply put, the number of times when parents act inappropriately towards officials, players, coaches and other parents is unacceptably high. Most agree that something must be done, but are unsure whether they want to put in the effort required to change the status quo.

There are five ways for parents to model good sportsmanship on the sports sidelines: cheering for the team, not just your child; refraining from criticizing players; thinking how other parents and fans see you; not putting your child on a pedestal; and having fun and not treating parents from the opposing team as the enemy.

Children who have loud and noisy parents are at a disadvantage playing sports. Focusing on the game with a screeching parent in the background is next to impossible. A mother is always the first to pick out the voice of her child crying, "Mom! Mom!" in a crowded store. It's the same way with kids. It doesn't matter how many fans are yelling, they can pick out their parents' voices through the din.