Loveland Youth Soccer Association
PLAYER CENTERED, FAMILY FRIENDLY, COMMUNITY CONNECTED
.png){kind=logo}
Sideline Etiquette
We love having parents, family members and friends attend our games. Your cheering and support add to the atmosphere and make the games fun for our players. But, sometimes enthusiasm spills into the area of sideline coaching; shoot the ball, pass the ball, don’t pass the ball in front of the goal, who’s playing defense, mark up or don’t just stand there, do something! Sideline coaching, even subtle and unintended, is disruptive and never helps the players or team play better,
Three Tips to be a Great LYSA Spectator
Cheer, support and encourage your player and team
Don’t yell instructions to your player or team; let the coach be the coach
Never yell the referee
even though they make mistakes.
FROM THE EXPERTS
John O'Sullivan
Best selling author and founder of Changing the Game Project
"When I travel and speak at schools and sports organizations, I often talk to the athletes. When asked, “what would you like your parents to say on the sidelines during your games?” 99% of those kids respond immediately with a resounding “NOTHING!”
No athlete has ever told me “ I love when my parents tell me what to do” or “it’s great when my dad yells at the referee.”
"Here is the funny thing, though. When I ask audiences of parents “what do your kids want you to say on the sideline” they immediately respond “NOTHING!” as well. They know what their kids want, but here is the kicker. I ask “but what are you going to do this weekend at your kid’s’ games?” The answer for many parents, as we all know, is yell instructions, disrespect the officials, collectively groan when kids make mistakes, and pretty much do exactly the opposite of what our kids want from us! This is disrespectful, confusing and disruptive to learning when they are trying to play a game and take feedback from a coach, fellow players, and from parents. The next time you see a player turn to the sideline and yell “shut up, I got it” you should probably take their advice."
"Any adult giving instruction to a player involved in the play, under pressure, and trying to make the decisions that the game requires, is confusing. It is also scientifically proven to diminish performance (see the book Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman for more on this). As my friend Tom Statham, who has coached in the Manchester United youth set up for over 20 years, is fond of saying, “we don’t coach when the ball is rolling.”
Let players make decisions and let them learn from both the good and bad ones. Every time we solve a problem for a player in a game we delay learning. It’s better to ask after the play “where could you have been on that play” than to tell a kid to pinch in, get rid of it, or my favorite, “SHOOT!” If a teacher gave your kids the answers to the math test, they would get a good result, and learn nothing, right? That’s what many coaches and parents do in sports."
An Experiment in Sideline Coaching
Listen to Kevin Eastman, Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers talk about a drill that he used did. He blindfolded every kid on the court and had everyone watching yell directions at a child in order to help him/her make a shot. When parents yelled the children were confused and never ended up near the basket.
Why Do Kids Play Sports
According to the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethical Education, research shows that kids play sports for the following reasons:
To have fun (always #1)
To do something I am good at
To improve my skills
To get exercise and stay in shape
To be part of a team
The excitement of competition
The Ride Home
Rich Hoyt, Assistant Professor at UC, calls the ride home “one of the most sacred venues in sports. He writes “from their earliest youth sports participation through much of high school, athletes leave practices and games to get in a car with parents or family members. What’s said during those moments immediately following practice and competition can shape the entire experience.”
“Unfortunately, many kids report that the ride home is their least favorite part of sports. That’s because too many parents take this time to play coach, rather than simply be Mom or Dad. Focusing on a game’s outcome, the child’s performance, or even the mistakes of teammates and coaches can be detrimental to a child’s ability to process their experience and enjoy the game.”
Referees are friends not food
REFEREES
We love our Referees, and we want you to love them too. Referees along with coaches are an important part of the community of people needed for youth soccer in Loveland.
TREAT ALL REFEREES WITH RESPECT
Referees often tell us they don't want to be on the parents' side of the field because of the criticsm they hear
GIVE THEM GRACE WHEN THEY MAKE A MISTAKE
Yes they make mistakes just like players and coaches
LET THEM CALL THE GAME
All referees take a class and pass a test to be certified to referee. They know the rules.