Written by How disappointing is it when it’s the parents behaving badly and ruining the fun for the children? Last Sunday an under 13s rugby league game left a 35-year-old father requiring facial surgery.
A wild brawl is said to have broken out in which up to 20 people were involved. The injured man is Josh Jones who sustained a vicious kick to the head and had to undergo surgery as a consequence. It seems the fracas began when a Logan Brothers supporter had an altercation with a Wynnum Manly fan which spilled from the grandstands onto the Brisbane playing field. Police investigations have indicated that the initial unprovoked assault occurred when the 35-year-old man was pushed down a set of stairs, knocking over a 59-year-old woman in the process. Four men have consequently been charged for the incident.
Poor sideline behavior is never good, but during a childrens’ game its doubly bad. This poor behavior could be seen as anything from placing undue pressure on children to perform well to the eruption of physical violence as in this case. The impact on the kids is profound and can ruin the sport for them for ever. As well as this it imparts a poor message to the children that aggression and violence is warranted in the sporting environment, or indeed, in any stressful situation. The best way to teach children how to behave well is by example, and so create a culture of tolerance and propriety that they will take with them into adulthood.
Most young athletes enjoy the support and encouragement of their parent/s at their games and want them to be actively engaged. Studies conducted among 42 Canadian tennis players have indicated that the children don’t want their parents to offer tactical advice or coaching, and that they are aware of their non-verbal cues and signals as well. And in regard to parental pressure, it was found that as the pressure to perform increased, the child’s enjoyment and satisfaction with the sport decreased, as did their ability to perform well.
This study’s aim was to establish the great importance of appropriate parental behavior in ensuring that the child remains engaged and motivated and actively participating in exercise. The healthy family culture and the positive behavior of the adult is therefore in direct relation to the development of the child’s adaptive or maladaptive behaviors.
At the end of the day, we want out kids to develop skills not only in the sport but in life; tolerance, health, resilience, inclusion, and good sportsmanship being primary. They don’t need to be the best at their chosen sport, but they do need for it not to become a chore and not to become something that they dread. We can’t expect children to view sport the same way that we do, they just want to have fun and feel good doing it, and that’s what its all about right? Aggressive and embarrassing behavior is not appropriate and not welcome in the healthy youth sports culture, it needs to remain about them.
Four spectators charged after wild junior rugby league brawl (news.com.au)
NRL, rugby league news: Brawl, under 13s game, Brisbane, video (foxsports.com.au)