Be a Good Sports Parent

Sideline etiquette begins with you!

The yelling. The cursing. The pushing. The shoving. At many youth sports events, parents behaving badly have become the sideline equivalent of road rage.

What can Mom and Dad do to show support without getting obnoxious—and sending the wrong message to the children?

“Basically, parents need to keep reinforcement positive and disappointment in check,” says Patrice M. Weiss, M.D., director of medical education for obstetrics/gynecology at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. Weiss was one of the first females to play Little League baseball in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, and she knows from experience how nasty some parents can be. “Screaming and hollering at the referee or the coach teaches children disrespect for authority figures,” she says. “It’s only a matter of time before they start arguing back, and that becomes their coping mechanism in life when things don’t go their way.”

Weiss’ colleague, orthopedic surgeon Jay Talsania, M.D., grew up playing soccer and now coaches his 8-year-old son’s travel team. He sits down with parents at the start of every season and lays out the rules for appropriate behavior. “I won’t tolerate poor sportsmanship,” he says. “We even encourage our parents to cheer for the other team after a good play.”

Here’s how you can be a good sports parent:

• Accentuate the positive. Teach your children to look at every game as an opportunity to do their best and learn from their mistakes as well as their victories.
• Respect the ref. Whether the referee is right or wrong, accept his or her decision. If it’s a bad call, the less said the better.
• Be a gracious winner and loser. You know the old saying: It’s not about winning or losing, but how your child plays the game. Being part of a team is the best reward. After the game, don’t ask if your child’s team won, ask if everyone had fun.
• Admit it when you’re wrong. If you get caught up in your emotions during a game, talk to your child afterward and admit you over-reacted.

This page last updated 4/1/08 11:28 AM