The "Parents"

This thread is directed towards the parents of the little youngsters who are involved in organized sport at a young age. Since I was very young, I had always been involved in youth sports. As I grew older, I was too old to participate any longer. So to fulfill my love for the game, I began to coach. I also officiate. So as a player, coach, & official, I feel I have a pretty good take on the situation at hand.

There is literally a war being fought behind closed doors. These closed doors, are the doors to every rink, baseball field, foootball stadium, etc., that we enter. Parents can be absolutely brutal when it comes to their children and the sport.

As an official I have had my life threatened. The event led to an involvement with Hockey Canada where they came down hard on the man. I chose not to pursue the event by pressing charges, but maybe that is what we need to do. As a coach, I have been physically assaulted. (More than once) By a grand-father at that. The man was pushing 70, and he made his way over and jumped me from behind. This was while the game was still being played. Old fart was light on his feet, I didn't see or hear him coming.

But this problem has been growing worse for years. Parents rarely treat the opponent, the coach, or the official with any form of respect. Too often the official is a 14 year old child, who is out to make a buck or two and get in a good skate. Yet the Mommy up in the crowd, can not see past the end of her nose to see that this child she is screaming at, may have a mother in the crowd as well.

Ask yourself, Have you ever found yourself at a youth sporting event, and hassled the official?

Most of us have. Which is a major problem.

A lot of people donate a lot of their time, to ensure that these kids have ample opportunity to participate in the sport they love. Some Mommies and Daddies do a hell of a job standing in the way of this. For most communities, it is tough to find coaches or officials. Because honestly, most people don't want the burden of having to deal with it.

Personally, I can ignore it and push on with the kids. I love the game and the friendships I create to leave it all behind me.

I just thought it would be a good idea to have a discussion on the parents of these child prodigies who are berating every coach or official who stands in their way.