When high school sports turn ugly

Pathetic. For the parents to resort to that type of behavior, its merely a reflection that there is not much else going on in their lives. With respect to the kids, there has also been a failure to communicate that sports are not the end all be all.

 

From the archives, pee-wee football:

 

Agreed. As much as we joke about helicopter parents and costing Little Johnny/Janey scholarships, but that's how parents think. Two examples:

1) Spent part of a Saturday last summer at a 7-on-7 tournament. Local Team gets into title game and wins on late TD, milking the clock. Parents from Opposing Team scream at Local Team coach the whole time we're talking afterward, "you should be ashamed of winning like that," and, all I can think is, "People, it's a passing league game that doesn't mean diddly-squat!"

2) Covering a playoff game in the fall. Talk to coach and stars of game then start heading out of the stadium, but not before getting chased down by one parent wanting to know if I'm a scout. Nope, just on the beat for the Podunk Shopping News. "Oh, well, thank you anyway."

 

Minor sports would be a hell of a lot better without parents.

 

Fixed.

 

The good ol' girl making her way across the field ... she's a lock for a Jerry Springer appearance in the not-too-distant future.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME! YOU DON'T KNOW ME!!"

 

The most depressing part of that video wasn't the fight nor the actions of the parents, but the girl giggling about how many YouTube hits she was going to get with the video.

 

If any parent came out of the stands onto a playing field in the UIL (Texas public high schools), that parent would be banned for the season. I've actually seen them banned for less, as in verbally abusing players, officials, opponents, etc.

Throwing a ball at a coach? That player's got to be gone, too. I'm curious to find out what sanctions the schools enforced.

 

I'm not going to blame her for shooting the video. Actually, she did a pretty good job. Captured the action, the camera didn't jerk around like most amateur efforts, and she got the follow-up with the big mom and the coach(?) at the backstop. Girl has some chops as a videographer.

 

I don't blame her for shooting the video. I just don't like her first thought being "I'm going to get soooo many YouTube hits!"

 

That's probably because soccer is not supposed to be a contact sport and when someone makes a hard challenge, tempers are more likely to flare. You expect contact in football and other sports. Even basketball.