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Every Youth Sports Field Should Display This Important Reminder for Parents
This sign serves as a crucial reminder for parents to maintain appropriate behavior during their children’s games. While we often expect a bit of playful mischief from kids—after all, they are just kids—adults sometimes forget their role and let their worst instincts emerge at youth sporting events.
To counter this, a local sports league created a poster aimed at reminding parents of their responsibilities during games. Apparently, such reminders are necessary.
Ethan Caldwell, a father watching his young son’s game at the Riverside Youth Sports Complex, noticed a sign affixed to the fence and decided to share it online. The sign quickly garnered attention for its straightforward yet impactful message:
PLEASE REMEMBER
- These are KIDS.
- This is a GAME.
- Coaches are VOLUNTEERS.
- Umpires are HUMAN.
- Your child is NOT being scouted by the local pro teams today.
Spot on.
Caldwell remarked, “It’s a simple yet effective reminder that we are watching kids play, and there’s absolutely no reason for tempers to flare.”
The league’s president, Mark Johnson, shared that these signs have been displayed at all five fields in their organization for the past three years in response to an alarming trend of overly competitive behavior from both parents and coaches. “This excessive competitiveness has occasionally resulted in conflicts among parents during games,” he explained.
Johnson also noted that some parents have made inappropriate comments directed at umpires, who are often teenagers themselves, thus bullying kids instead of supporting them.
As a mother of two young athletes, I truly believe that signs like this should be prominently displayed at every youth sports venue across the nation. Throughout my years as a spectator, I’ve witnessed parents overreact to minor issues involving coaches and umpires, and even lash out at their own children. It’s frankly absurd.
Seeing a child’s spirit deflate after receiving harsh criticism from an adult is heartbreaking. Just yesterday, I observed my eight-year-old son play his first match, and while there weren’t any major outbursts from parents, I did witness coaches losing their patience when kids didn’t perform as expected. I wanted to remind them, “Hey, these kids are still young enough to be wearing cartoon character underwear!”
They might appear to be big kids, but they are still just children. It’s important for everyone involved to remember this.
One day, the stakes will be higher for our kids in sports, but for now, let’s keep the focus on fun and enjoyment. It is our responsibility to ensure that they have a positive experience.
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In summary, a simple sign at every youth sports field can significantly help parents remember the essence of these games: fun, support, and the joy of watching children play.
