Positive Sideline Behavior: Supporting Youth Soccer

1. Positive Sideline Behavior: Supporting Youth Soccer By Melissa Hunt

2. Parents want their children to play well and have fun. They want them to be well coached, play on a team that is competitive and benefit from being involved in athletics.

3. Players will have the best experience if they know their parents are on the sidelines supporting them and showing respect and appreciation for their team, coaches and referees.

4. Youth soccer games are places for adults to demonstrate positive sideline behavior. It is a good time to act as role models and instill healthy values.

5. As the cost and competitiveness of youth sports has increased, the need to emphasis the awareness of and criterion for positive sideline behavior has also increased. Sports Illustrated for Kids polled players and 74% have witnessed out-of-control adults.

6. Players, parents and coaches sign “Codes of Conduct” annually to reinforce the importance of representing ourselves in a sportsmanlike manner. Increased awareness and emphasis on positive behavior is valuable to all involved.

7. Younger Arlington travel teams (U9-U13), their families and coaches were asked to participate in a study designed to increase the awareness of and promote positive sideline behavior during the Fall of 2009. Several times during the season, the coaches had their teams evaluate positive sideline behavior after their game.

8. Players have a lot of insight on positive sideline behaviors. This evaluation card was used to identify positive behaviors such as cheering, applause, team praise and encouragement for the home team and/or both teams playing.

9. The following patterns were observed during the course of the study: • Overall, girls’ teams were more positive regarding their parents’ sideline behavior than the same age boys’ teams. • Parental positive sideline behavior was reportedly less positive with older girls’ and boys’ teams than their younger counterparts. • Positive sideline behavior was consistently more positive when the team was perceived more successful in their game. • Players were more positive regarding their own parental sideline behavior than in their offered feedback regarding other teams’ sideline behavior. • Across all age groups players were appreciative of positive sideline behaviors. The teams’ overall evaluation of sideline behavior was consistently more positive in direct relation to more positive sideline behavior ratings.

10. POSITIVE SIDELINE BEHAVIOR RATINGS BY PLAYERS **= winner regardless of game score G B G B G B G

11. Teams evaluated positive sideline behaviors in terms of frequency- occurring throughout the game, occurring repetitively, more than once, on one occasion or not at all. GIRLS BOYS CHEERING

12. Younger teams’ responses reflected the cheering, clapping and overall positive feedback from the sidelines while older teams’ responses reflected the coaches’ motivation and feedback.

13. Oldest teams generally related their overall “winner regardless of score” rating to their game performance in addition to the overall positive sideline behavior as reported by the team evaluation. This correlation was stronger for the boys’ teams in general. U10 U11 U12 U13 Girls U10 U11 U12 Boys

14. CONCLUSION: All players benefited from positive sideline behavior. Increased emphasis on positive behavior appeared to impact all teams participating in the study; People on younger team sidelines most significantly.

15. Coaches coach, Players play and Sidelines support. PLEASE speak to the positive of the player, team, coach and referee.