Derek Jambor’20, Business/Ad Manager
High school sports are one of the most special things available to people. Having the opportunity to watch high school athletes for such a low price is a great privilege that should not be forgotten. Some parents can not seem to figure that out in today’s society. With all the unnecessary comments from the stands, or the talking behind the scenes, takes all the fun out of the games. I have heard some of the things parents say about the other players on their kids’ own team and it is disgusting to hear some of their vicious comments.
One of the biggest problems with high school sports that I have seen firsthand is “ Daddy or mommy’s ball.” This is the something that irritates many athletes across the nation. When an athlete’s mom or dad steps up to be a coach or become a board member for their kid they will get special treatment. If a kid who does not work as hard or just is not as good gets treated better because of his parents that is frustrating to see. I believe everything should be earned and handouts are just somewhat weak especially in sports. All the college and pro athletes did not make it to where they are today because it was given to them, they worked everyday to better themselves, and that is how it should be.
It also is very frustrating to see parents yelling at coaches or referees from the stands. It is understable if there is a bad call or something does not go your team’s way you will yell everybody has at some point. When it happens after every play it starts to get annoying. Nobody is perfect, refs will make bad calls and coaches will call the wrong play that is apart of sports and it is not going to change. Those who always argue the call will have to soon accept that nothing is going to change in that aspect of the sports.
A real head scratcher to me has been parents negatively yelling at their own kid from the stands. An anonymous person said “I hated it when my dad always screamed at me during my basketball games. It made me less confident and it was not fun for me anymore.” There is no need for that. Let your kid play their game, they do not need your input from the stands. Negative comments most likely will make kids feel down, and then nobody is happy when that happens. Watching your kid play sports should be fun even if they make a mistake, they will not be playing forever so you should cherish the years you have watching them as positively as you can.
High school sports can be ruined by any parent. That should not happen if everybody just watches the game and tries to focus on the positives of the team and their own kid it will be so much more fun than it already is.
Photo courtesy of The Oakland Press
Lyon Life 