I am writing in response to the June 5 letter written by Stephanie Lambalot concerning the loss of soccer officials because of abuse from adults. (“Fan Behavior: Youth soccer loses referees to abuse”). Unfortunately, the problem is not confined to soccer. As the coordinator of the Sky Valley Little League umpire program in Monroe, I have seen a disastrous decline in the number of people who are willing to umpire baseball, or to return for a second season. The reason? There are several, but the most common is abuse from parents and coaches.
At the beginning of each year, I call all the umpires who volunteered the previous season to encourage them to come back. A disheartening number do not. The most common comment I hear is, “It’s not worth it for all the verbal abuse I have to take!” I see parents and coaches alike treating games involving ten-year-old players as though they were the final game of the World Series.
And retaining officials is not the only problem. I constantly see parents and coaches placing unrealistic expectations on their young players. Not every kid is the next Ken Griffey, Jr. or Ichiro, but don’t tell the parents and coaches that. Too many adults are attempting to relive the glory days of their youth or attain levels of achievement they were not able to achieve vicariously through their kids or those youngsters placed in their charge.
I’m sad to report that the behavior is filtering down to the players. I hear more foul language, even from kids 10 and younger, see more incidents of equipment-throwing tantrums and more fights each year. And why not? The kids see their favorite sports stars behaving this way, why can’t they?
Ms. Lambalot writes; “…the solution to our problem is to create a safe environment … but that is very difficult when coaches and parents won’t control their own behavior.” So what do league and school officials do? My league has, on several occasions, banned disruptive parents from games, and removed coaches who were not fit to lead youngsters. But that’s closing the barn door after the horse is out. I guess we can only appeal to the adults involved with youth sports to remember who the game is for. It’s not for the parents, it’s not for the coaches, it’s not for the officials – it’s for the kids.
Umpire-in-Chief
Sky Valley Little League
Monroe
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