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Coaches coach--Parents teach
While the comic displayed above is a satirical depiction of the state of some youth sports leagues, the fact is only a small fraction of parents or other spectators ever display unsportsmanlike behavior at a youth sporting event. Though they are small in number, their resulting ripple effect can cause a huge disruption to a game, and sometimes even to an entire season of play.
All adults who attend a youth sporting event have the responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner that is supportive of each and every player, coach, and official involved in the game. From within their experience in Little League, children have an excellent opportunity to learn the proper response to many circumstances that occur during a game. Please allow everyone in the game to simply have fun while competing, and to learn from their successes and failures in a positive manner. We ask for everyone to maintain perspective throughout the entire season, and remember that it's called a game for a reason.
Parents and spectators also are reminded that all of the adults in Little League are volunteers. Our league's team managers, coaches, umpires, and league officials are all amateurs at what they do for this program. Each volunteer puts forth a lot of effort and devotes a good amount of time toward making this program available to the children in this community. Please respect and appreciate what it is they are doing by being equally supportive of their efforts.
Smoking is not permitted at any ballfield!
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Frederick County National Little League is co-sponsored by the Frederick County Parks and Recreation Department. Any parent or other spectator guilty of improper conduct at any game or practice may be asked to leave the sports facility and face suspension from the following game. Repeat violations will be cause for a multiple game suspension, or the season forfeiture of the privilege of attending all games. In any instance involving a serious infraction, individuals may be barred from attending any event held on county owned property for a period of up to two years.
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| Included in the 2009 edition of the "Official Regulations and Playing Rules of Little League Baseball and Softball" are Rule 4.06, Rule 4.07, Rule 4.08, and Rule 9.01. Each of these rules specify what type of conduct displayed by a manager, coach, or player will be considered un sportsmanlike and describe the penalty that shall be applied by any umpire. Frederick County National Little League has implemented the following Sport Parent Code of Conduct for the important message it holds about the proper role of parents in supporting their child in sports. Parents should read this code and acknowledge its good intent prior to their children participating in the league. |
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Sport Parent Code of Conduct
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The essential elements of character building and ethics in sports are embodied in the concept of sportsmanship and six core principles:
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Trustworthiness
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Respect
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Responsibility
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Fairness
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Caring
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Good Citizenship
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The children playing the game are out there for one main reason; they want to have fun.
Parents need to agree:
1. I will not force my child to participate in sports.
2. I will remember that children participate to have fun and that the game is for youth, not adults.
3. I will inform the coach of any physical disability or ailment that may affect the safety of my child or the safety of others.
4. I will respect the rules of the game and the policies of the league.
5. I (and my guests) will be a positive role model for my child and encourage sportsmanship by showing respect and courtesy, and by demonstrating positive support for all players, coaches, officials and spectators at every game, practice or other sporting event.
6. I (and my guests) will not engage in any kind of un sportsmanlike conduct with any official, coach, player, or parent such as booing and taunting; refusing to shake hands; or using profane language or gestures.
7. I will not encourage any behaviors or practices that would endanger the health and well being of the athletes.
8. I will teach my child to play by the rules and to resolve conflicts without resorting to hostility or violence.
9. I will demand that my child treat other players, coaches, officials and spectators with respect regardless of race, creed, color, sex or ability.
10. I will teach my child that doing one’s best is more important than winning, so that my child will never feel defeated by the outcome of a game or his/her performance.
11. I will praise my child for competing fairly and trying hard, and make my child feel like a winner every time.
12. I will never ridicule or yell at my child or other participants for making a mistake or losing a competition.
13. I will emphasize skill development and practices and how they benefit my child over winning. I will also de-emphasize games and competition in the lower age groups.
14. I will promote the emotional and physical well-being of the athletes ahead of any personal desire I may have for my child to win.
15. I will respect the officials and their authority during games and will never question, discuss, or confront coaches at the game field, and will take time to speak with coaches at an agreed upon time and place.
16. I will demand a sports environment for my child that is free from drugs, tobacco, and alcohol, and I will refrain from their use at all practice and game locations.
17. I will refrain from coaching my child or other players during games and practices, unless I am one of the official coaches of the team.
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Children and Sports: Don’t Forget to Practice Sportsmanship!
by Dawn Ramsburg
Source: http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content4/children.sports.pn.html
As the weather grows warmer, memories of spending hours in my backyard with my parents and my sisters come flooding back. The game of choice for us was softball, although there were many games of kick soccer, croquet, badminton, tag, hopscotch, and catch as well. From the time we finished cleaning up after dinner until it was too dark to see the ball anymore, we took turns hitting, pitching, and fielding the softball. And over the course of several years, starting when I was 8 years old, our dad took turns coaching each of us on a local park district team until my youngest sister finished playing.
Through those hours of playing in the backyard, my sisters and I learned a variety of skills—how to throw a ball, how to hit, and how to catch. By having our dad as a coach, we also learned another important part of the game—how to be a good sport. Sitting around the kitchen table after a game, we learned about other aspects of the game such as fairness as he talked about making a lineup that included everyone, teamwork, respect for others regardless of their ability, and how important it was to have fun. My dad had a rule as a coach that everyone got to play in every game, regardless of skill level. This rule helped us learn that having an opportunity to play was more important than winning.
While it did take a few summers to eventually learn this lesson, it was sometimes evident that some of the adults in the stands and parents of teammates had never learned this lesson. Each summer my dad would receive at least one phone call from a parent questioning why his or her daughter did not get to start or was taken out at the end of the game. This parent would argue that the game was lost because his or her child was not in the game at a critical moment when perhaps a younger, less experienced player was on the field or up to bat. My dad would calmly and carefully explain his coaching philosophy to the parent—that this was a recreational league, a chance for everyone to learn and grow, it was a team game, and, to him, the most important outcome was for everyone to have fun and he did not think that would happen if some players had to sit on the bench the whole season. Sometimes, after those phone calls, the parents would understand what he was saying and then they would appear more supportive of the whole team at games. Sometimes, however, the player would stop coming to practices and games.
As I think back over those years, and even to a similar phone call I received when I coached a couple of years ago, I cannot help but remember all of the key plays that were made by those players regarded as "not as good." More vividly, I remember the screams of joy and the feelings of confidence that were bursting from those players in these moments and the pride that was beaming from their parents’ faces. It is these moments that reinforce to me how important it is not to forget to teach good sportsmanship when teaching the other basic skills of a game. This can sometimes be difficult to remember, however, when we see professional athletes fighting with each other, fans booing players at a stadium, and parents at Little League games criticizing other players.
What is Sportsmanship?
Most younger children do not understand fully what is meant by sportsmanship. When one physical education teacher asks his class to explain sportsmanship, he hears such replies as: "Don’t cheat," "Don’t get mad or cry when you lose," or "Don’t yell at your teammates when they make a mistake". Children often have a hard time understanding the concepts of competition, winning, and losing. This is understandable when you consider that children see all of the attention and rewards thrown toward winners while losers do not receive such focus. The message that kids are learning, then, is that people are valued only if they are a winner.
On the other hand, most adults can explain sportsmanship by discussing the respect for the game, the players, the rules, and the officials. Adults can understand that it is O.K. to lose and that what is important is to do your best and strive to improve your own abilities. Despite adults’ ability to understand the complexities of sportsmanship, some fail to display good sportsmanship for a variety of reasons. Some parents and adults get wrapped up in the competition because they are living vicariously through their children. Others might have unrealistic expectations about their child, thinking she or he might be the next superstar. To ensure that children gain the benefits of sports participation, however, it is important for parents and coaches to evaluate and monitor their own attitudes and behaviors so that good sportsmanship is learned.
Ways to Promote Sportsmanship
Coaches and parents can promote good sportsmanship by:
- Maintaining a "Fun is Number 1" attitude. If everyone is having fun, it’ll make learning all aspects of the game more enjoyable and rewarding.
- Designing sport activities which facilitate cooperation rather than just competition so that youth learn about fair play.
- Teaching children the rules of the game and making sure that everyone (players, parents, fans) abides by those rules during competition.
- Encouraging and supporting all players on a team.
- Controlling emotions in frustrating situations.
- Treating officials, coaches, players, teammates, and opponents with respect and avoiding ridicule and sarcasm.
- Using moments from the game to teach about being a good sport ("I know it seemed like you got the runner at first out, but I was really proud of the way you didn’t argue with the umpire.").
- Making sure there are consequences when poor sportsmanship is displayed.
- Providing examples of good sportsmanship such as shaking hands with the opponent at the end of the game.
Participation in youth sports provides numerous opportunities for healthy development physically, socially, and morally. The key to children gaining these benefits comes from coaches, parents, and others adults not only teaching children how to play the sports, but also supporting and demonstrating how to be a good sport. This can be done not only during the game, but also when playing softball in the backyard.
Source: http://www.educationworld.com/
Children learn moral behavior from engaging with others, watching the behaviors of others, and/or being taught ethical behavior. Sportsmanship attitudes and behaviors are learned in a like manner. Therefore, being involved in sport alone is not sufficient to ensure that participants will learn sportsmanlike attitudes and behaviors. Rather it is the social interactions that are fostered by the sport experience that will determine the benefit of sport to athletes. Achieving that benefit requires that designated leaders within the sport take action to teach ethical and moral behavior in sport.
How a sport is structured by the community, administrators, and coaches can determine whether or not children learn sportsmanlike behaviors. The emphasis within the sport program becomes the means by which the child learns what is appropriate and/or acceptable behavior. Overemphasis on winning in sport can also lead individuals (athletes, coaches, and parents alike) to engage in antisocial or delinquent behaviors aimed at trying to gain an advantage to win. Athletes who focus on self-mastery and personal improvement (ie., task-oriented) are more likely to perceive the purpose of sport as teaching values such as working hard, cooperating with others, and becoming good citizens.
Saturday, March 14
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