7 Ways to Ruin Sports for Your Kids
August 20, 2010, By Victor Medina 0 comments
3. Work the Sidelines
It's tempting, especially as the father of a young athlete, to stand on the sidelines and encourage the players. No matter what the sport or the age, most coaches find such behavior annoying and distracting. Young children in particular will spend most of their time looking at you rather than playing the game.
4. Pick on the Weak Ones
Taunting an opposing player has been elevated to an art form at the pro level, but for children, it is not constructive. Mocking or chanting at opposing players is classless; consider how you would feel if it were your child. Such behavior teaches impressionable minds to trash talk, and there's way too much of that in sports already. In addition, it encourages other fans to do so, which could easily escalate into a mob mentality with parents yelling at one another, or worse.
NEXT: The Lessons You Teach
