Immature parents are what give youth sports a black eye. These kinds of parents don't anticipate the consequences of their boorish behavior but just act impulsively without thinking. Immature parents don't take responsibility for their behavior but instead blame the referee, the coach or the mistakes of others.
Parents who have kids playing youth sports need to understand that their behavior at their kids' games has an enormous impact on every single child participating. Kids hear their parents applaud when another child strikes out. They hear the swear words and the insults directed at an umpire. They hear the second-guessing and bad mouthing of their coach.
Not only does this immature behavior set a bad example for other children, but it opens the door for them to see such actions as permission to behave in the exact same way themselves. Bad behavior breeds bad behavior and this vicious cycle just keeps churning right along.
Our organization, the National Alliance for Youth Sports, uses video to help train parents on how to behave while watching their kids play sports. I will never forget my first video shoot of a soccer game. We were doing the video of kids ages seven and eight playing in a game one Saturday morning. There were parents lined up on both sides of the field. I noticed from the moment the first whistle blew to start the game that this one woman was following her son from one end of the field to the other screaming, "HUSTLE Tommy, HUSTLE!"
Most parents, who I'll call the mature parents, watched this lady with angst and mostly humor. Her youngster obviously had little idea what his mom meant and I kept thinking that all he ever wanted to do was come out and play and have fun; not be made a fool of by his mom.
Finally, near the end of the game and exhausted from running all over the field, the youngster, practically in tears, walked off the field and said loud enough for all to hear: "Mommy, I hate soccer. I'm not playing anymore."
It was evident to me and so many other parents watching her behavior that when it comes to youth sports some parents are just clueless. This mother had no idea that she had just ruined the game for her son; nor did she take responsibility for her actions. She blamed the coach, the referee, the game itself or the crowd when all she had to do to find the real culprit was to look in the mirror.
I was literally speechless when I read a newspaper article about a parent in Michigan who actually sued the umpire of one of her child's games because she said the referee had caused her son's team to lose the game. I'm not kidding!
These stories happen all the time. No sport, age or skill level is immune from these ridiculous behaviors. As youth sports parents we have a responsibility to be mature and set a positive example -- not only for our children but for everyone else competing, too. Trust me, young athletes will appreciate it.