Profanity And Aggression In Youth Sports
Abusive language, shouting, screaming and shoving are prohibited in schools and in most cases in the home of young people, yet in some youth sporting programs it is accepted with excitement and enthusiasm. Schools preach against these attitudes; parents warn their kids against these behaviors, yet when it happens during their youth sport experience they turn a blind eye.
In some circles, youth sports are an arena where profanity and aggressive behavior are seen as beneficial to getting messages across to young people from those coaching, and in many instances this is not addressed by the parents which only serves to encourage this poor, irresponsible behavior.
It is regarded as bid to bring the best out of players and is accepted by some parents because their focus is only on the result of the game like that is the only thing that matters.
It is high time these parents looked deep within themselves and think about who they want their child to grow up to be, and stand up to these coaches to correct them.
Profanity is profanity and it is not acceptable in the youth sports arena. Location and circumstances do not and should not change people’s views towards unruly behaviors.
It can be so bad that a coach will scream at a young player while his parents are watching. Instead of calling the coach to order they will support the actions, especially when the team are on the winning side. These parents and coaches have forgotten that children are very impressionable and they learn bad habits twice as fast as they learn good ones. And the worst part is that the learning is done unconsciously. They don’t realize that after learning this language, the kids will not restrict it to sports, it will become part of their general.
If the parents don’t see anything wrong in it, the coaches will never be held accountable. In many cases it’s the parents you expect to take offence at such behavior are the one supporting it, telling you that it is out of passion and that it’s part of the game.
The same parents that commend a coach, who is an adult, for using bad language around the kids will recommend a certain level of punishment for the kids if they use this language themselves. A great way to fill your child’s head with confusion.
It is unfortunate that adults often forget that just because something is accepted by a few does not make it right. Parents need to stand up to this behavior even if they risk criticism.
Youth sport is about developing great young people and preparing them to take on the world just as school and home life is. If a coach cannot get his message across without profanity and aggression, his coaching abilities are seriously flawed and parents should seek new programs to involves their kids in.
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