A short while back I offered a few thoughts (Hey parents, quit yelling at minor hockey officials) on the longstanding issues of folks abusing minor sports officials.
"The yahoos remain and they're not just hurting their own youngsters but all the others as well 鈥� and the sports themselves" was the closing thought and almost immediately now we have tangible evidence of exactly that.
One of my favourite former colleagues passed along the following message:
"In the Nanaimo/Ladysmith school district there is a volunteer group of teachers and administrators who each year co-ordinate inter-school sports leagues for football, volleyball, basketball, etc. The group is called NETPEA (Nanaimo Elementary Teachers' Physical Education Association). There was a meeting last week to organize the upcoming basketball season, usually consisting of league games followed by playoffs. Last year the basketball playoffs featured some horrible abuse. So the group brainstormed how to respond. There were about 30 teachers present and they voted: no playoffs, no score clock and shift changes every five minutes where new players must come on the floor (to prevent using "ringers" constantly). The changes were overwhelmingly accepted."
I reached out for comment from NETPEA officials but didn't hear back before press time.
But let's break this down.
First, I don't begrudge the organization one bit for the decision they reached. And it's bound to start happening with other sports groups as well.
Second, I still think it's terrible it has to come to this. Full disclosure: I had a close-up look at the aforementioned basketball playoffs last year. There was, sadly, way too much yelling at the refs (mostly just coaches or other volunteers stepping in). Once, one of the too-loud twits (though not directed at anyone in particular) was me. (Read all about my shame here). Without game officials, there are no games. That's not what anyone wants.
Third, it's a massive shame because I firmly believe winning and losing (and learning to do both) are a huge part of life. Once they're of a certain age, if there's no wins and losses, you're not really protecting the children from anything. Perhaps even setting them up for bigger disappointments later in life.
Of course (as I've oft stated) the notion of fun being paramount in any sport remains sacred, especially for the youngsters. But on many levels, sports also offer a remarkable chance for them to learn about life.
My Little League baseball team went 59-0-1 and decades later, I鈥檓 still bitter about the tie. Family board game night was high-stakes competition (wait, there's no elbowing in backgammon?). In any sport, I was always taught to play as hard as you could, all the time. If the result was too overwhelming for the other team, too bad. If one player happened to be much better than all the others, find a way to stop them.
Get excited when you win, try to figure out what you can do better if you lose. Children aren't made of sugar, they can handle a little adversity.
But all that said, that's not really what's happening here. Young players are being deprived of a chance to learn those life lessons because adults can't stop screeching at officials.
And to me "you can't do this because the parents are meatheads" is in itself a life lesson, albeit a terrible one.
Stop yelling at minor sports officials. The future of the games is at stake.
PQB News/VI Free Daily editor Philip Wolf can be reached by phone at 250-905-0019, or by email at philip.wolf@blackpress.ca.
