Parents Gone Wild

Sports are a great way for kids to learn sportsmanship, teamwork, dedication, discipline, and hard

work. Parents play a huge role in the beginning of their children’s sports careers. First off, participating in sports is a financial investment for parents. The more kids one has, the more money and time a parent has to spend. Sports aren’t cheap. Kids need uniforms, equipment, there are registration fees for tournament and league play, and there is the possibility of private lesson. Second, parent like to see their children succeed. This is why parent push their kids so hard. Some parents yell at their kids if they feel that they should be performing better. Other parents are very encouraging especially when their kids make mistakes.

Unfortunately, sometimes parents view their kid’s sports events as life and death. Sometimes they even turn into what is called "sports rage or parent rage". These parents will physically or verbally attack another parent, player, coach, or official.

I’ve been umpiring baseball for the last five years. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen parents get out of control. One time during a 10 year-old tournament a coach was so furious at his son for walking two batters in a row. He called a stoppage in play to talk to his son, and in front of everyone started to verbally embarrass him. He started using profanity which I felt was inappropriate for that level of baseball. I quickly confronted the coach and informed him that that type of language was not acceptable. He quickly informed me to “screw myself.” As fast as his last word exited his mouth, I ejected him from the game. He continued to curse and rant at me for a minute and soon enough made his way to the parking lot.

Parents need to realize that youth sports are supposed to be fun. It’s for the kids, not the parents. It’s not worth embarrassing yourself because you feel your kid isn’t performing the way you want them to or because you feel the official made the wrong call. It’s time to take a chill pill and enjoy the game.

Why is Kevin Love not play for Team USA anymore?