There’s a punching bag in sports that has nothing to do with boxing. Think back to Lou Piniella, and his fiery tirades that would culminate in the Cubs manager kicking dirt onto an umpire’s shoes. Or Indiana University coaching legend Bobby Knight flinging a chair across the basketball floor over a ref’s call.
But in the world of youth sports, ripping the ref has consequences.
The Chicago Tribune’s Kate Thayer recently reported that in Illinois as well as the rest of the country, the number of people working as umpires and referees at youth sports leagues and high school sporting events is dropping.
The reason? Parents, coaches and fans behaving badly.
There’s nothing entertaining about watching some dad screaming at a 17-year-old umpire over a call at the plate, or a soccer mom going ballistic with a ref over her 9-year-old getting tripped on a breakaway.
The biggest impact of these ugly displays, however, is on the youngsters who have to watch them. Kids learn so much from youth sports—the value of teamwork, the notion of fair play, the meaning behind trying your hardest. But what’s the takeaway when a 7-year-old watches his or her coach unload on an ump over a close call?
When games start getting canceled because there’s no one to officiate, maybe parents and coaches will start thinking twice about blowing their tops at a ref or ump.
But there’s an even better reason why they should think twice: those 7- and 8-year-olds standing there petrified.