This weekend when my son runs on to the soccer field it won’t be to the cheers (or jeers) of the spectators.
It won’t be to the shouts of “run harder” or “wake up boys”. It won’t be to shouts of “get down the field” or “kick it Harry kick it now.”
It will be – in theory – to silence.
The soccer club my son is a part of is having its annual “Silence on the Sidelines” weekend.
The aim is to raise awareness among parents and spectators about sporting behaviour and encourage a “supportive environment.”
The club has asked that there be no yelling at the players, coaches or referees.
“Let the coaches do the coaching. No yelling, no loud talking or abusive language used.”
The club doesn’t want to hear Charlie’s dad telling the ref he’s got “no bloody idea what he’s doing” or Lucinda’s mum arguing with the mums on the other team to “teach their kids to play fair”.
It doesn’t want to hear a rather portly balding man telling the coach of the under sixes he’s “only complaining cause his team is f**ing losing.”
All things I heard with my own ears on the sidelines last Saturday at a soccer ground on Sydney’s north shore.
The club has asked that there be no yelling at the players, coaches or referees. Via IStock.
It sad that an initiative is needed to ask, in essence that an under seven soccer game have only “clapping and cheering” and only the coaches should do the coaching but even from my few years of being a ‘soccer mum’ I can tell you it's necessary.
Top Comments
What a great idea!
It's tragic how some parents desperately try to live through their kids at a children's sports game...
Those parents need to get a life, or maybe play sport themselves, rather than vicariously living through their children. Sad.