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I hope the judge throws the book at this "dad" (and I use that word loosly! Grrr!)!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100709/ap_ ... h_arrested

I know I've spoken of this before, but, it's definitely worth repeating: If anyone wants a lesson on how parents SHOULD treat their kids in sports, they need to read Dan and Jay Bylsma's book, "So Your Son Wants to Play in the NHL." It doesn't matter what sport your kid is involved in, the lessons in this book are invaluable!! It's a great book for ALL parents and sports fans in general. And, it's fun to read about Dan's connection to BGSU!

http://danbylsma.com/book1.htm

FF:

Great post. Sadly, while this sort of thing continues to get spotlighted in the media, many parents keep up with antics that are nothing short of ridiculous. I'm constantly on my team's parents about exhibiting good sportsmanship. While I'm pleased to say that they are usually pretty good about it, we've seen many parents on other teams just go over the top.

Bottom line - they are kids and, odds are, they are not going to play competitive sports beyond middle school, let alone high school. So you're trying to teach them life lessons as much as (or more than) athletic lessons and give them a lifelong love of sports. Too many parents just don't get it.

At some point you have to step back and let your kids enjoy the game...... and when they move to other sports, you have to be willing to support them as best as you can.... which does not include punching them in the face. When my boys decided to stop playing soccer and football I was conflicted, but I throw all my support behind their newer endeavors and supported their high school coaches as best as I could. It earned Sam a medal in the Div. 1 State Track meet in the 4x800..... and Nicholas is doing great in Pole Vault.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCr9ZUIUigg

Sorry.... couldn't seem to embed the vid

BTW - Nicholas has been getting some letters from small schools to pole vault in college. Not sure what he plans to do. Right now he is focused on going to BGSU in architecture..... think I need to go punch in the face.

You two are the kind of parents/coaches that all kids need to have when they are young and in sports!! That's what the Bylsma's book is all about. Being a good sports-parent and teaching the life lessons to your kid that will stick with them forever!!! There is a reason Dan Bylsma is such a great person....he had great parents who stressed the right things to help him grow into a great adult!

I can't say it enough....if you have kids, READ THIS BOOK!!!

1987alum wrote:FF:

Great post. Sadly, while this sort of thing continues to get spotlighted in the media, many parents keep up with antics that are nothing short of ridiculous. I'm constantly on my team's parents about exhibiting good sportsmanship. While I'm pleased to say that they are usually pretty good about it, we've seen many parents on other teams just go over the top.

Bottom line - they are kids and, odds are, they are not going to play competitive sports beyond middle school, let alone high school. So you're trying to teach them life lessons as much as (or more than) athletic lessons and give them a lifelong love of sports. Too many parents just don't get it.

Spencer did not come home with a win last night in his first tournement game, in fact it was the worst loss of the season for his team 9-1, however he did have fun. He was laughing about getting hit by a fastball and showing his mom and I the marks from the stitching on the ball. At bedtime he asked us why the other teams third base coach was yelling and using cuss words at his own players. We just told him to keep having fun in sports at this age and that the coaches from the team we played were a little too serious. I mean these are 9 - 10 year old kids.

Tech83 wrote:At some point you have to step back and let your kids enjoy the game...... and when they move to other sports, you have to be willing to support them as best as you can.... which does not include punching them in the face. When my boys decided to stop playing soccer and football I was conflicted,

The real problem here is that you ever allowed them to play soccer in the first place!

hammb wrote:

Tech83 wrote:At some point you have to step back and let your kids enjoy the game...... and when they move to other sports, you have to be willing to support them as best as you can.... which does not include punching them in the face. When my boys decided to stop playing soccer and football I was conflicted,

The real problem here is that you ever allowed them to play soccer in the first place!

hammb wrote:

Tech83 wrote:At some point you have to step back and let your kids enjoy the game...... and when they move to other sports, you have to be willing to support them as best as you can.... which does not include punching them in the face. When my boys decided to stop playing soccer and football I was conflicted,

The real problem here is that you ever allowed them to play soccer in the first place!

Did ya see the size of Nicholas's arms in the vid..... you really don't want to get him angry.

oaklane2 wrote:

1987alum wrote:FF:

Great post. Sadly, while this sort of thing continues to get spotlighted in the media, many parents keep up with antics that are nothing short of ridiculous. I'm constantly on my team's parents about exhibiting good sportsmanship. While I'm pleased to say that they are usually pretty good about it, we've seen many parents on other teams just go over the top.

Bottom line - they are kids and, odds are, they are not going to play competitive sports beyond middle school, let alone high school. So you're trying to teach them life lessons as much as (or more than) athletic lessons and give them a lifelong love of sports. Too many parents just don't get it.

Spencer did not come home with a win last night in his first tournement game, in fact it was the worst loss of the season for his team 9-1, however he did have fun. He was laughing about getting hit by a fastball and showing his mom and I the marks from the stitching on the ball. At bedtime he asked us why the other teams third base coach was yelling and using cuss words at his own players. We just told him to keep having fun in sports at this age and that the coaches from the team we played were a little too serious. I mean these are 9 - 10 year old kids.

AWESOME!!! He has a good attitude about it because YOU have a good attitude about it!! Good for you!!!

Some parents are utterly ridiculous when it comes to sports... I, for one, have one of those parents. My dad was (still is-ish) a sports fanatic and he wanted to always coach me in whatever I played - baseball and basketball. Whenever he coached me, it was a terrible experience because if I didn't succeed to his liking, he would always chew me out and I wouldn't want to play anymore. Mind you, this all happened when I was 10 or younger.
I specifically remember one instance where I was pitching (and having a pretty bad time of it). The bases were loaded, he pulled me off the mound, chewed me out in the dugout, and I was so upset from that I ran off the diamond and sat in the parking lot until the game was over. Of course, afterward I got chewed out again and probably spanked for being "disobedient."
The only sport that I ever really succeeded at was soccer because he never coached me (yeah, sorry hammb - it's a sport and a respectable one at that, just give in ). I never had to worry about him getting angry at me. I was actually the best goalie in my league at one point.
Of course, then I found that music was what I should be doing, not sports. Love sports, but it just wasn't what I was best at doing. So of course, I again ticked him off because "singing is for sissies." He eventually wised up and supported me in my endeavors but it would have been nice to have support from the beginning... (Fast forward 6 years and I was announcing sports in high school. Fast forward another 3 years from that and I was broadcasting sports at BGSU.)

I just think some parents need to realize that if their children are succeeding or trying their best, that should be good enough and it certainly doesn't warrant abuse - verbal or physical.

musicman2343 wrote:... My dad was (still is-ish) a sports fanatic and he wanted to always coach me in whatever I played - baseball and basketball. .

This is one of the reasons given for the exponential growth of lacrosse in various non-traditional lax regions of the country.

Kids like to get into it because their dads didn't play and they can't "help them out" with coaching and tips.

Last week I was walking over to a field where a high school football camp/scrimmage was being held.

Referees were dragging away an irate parent after he charged at one of the players on the field for
hitting his son after the whistle.

JoeFalcon wrote:Last week I was walking over to a field where a high school football camp/scrimmage was being held.

Referees were dragging away an irate parent after he charged at one of the players on the field for
hitting his son after the whistle.

Just one more example of parents forgetting how to act like adults and role models!!

I attended my daughter's athletic banquet and it really hit home with me how much influence a kid's early coaches have. My daughter and her friend went up to receive tennis awards, another kid was All-State in Swimming, three were on the State championship softball team, another was the leading scorer in basketball and two were on the regional final volleyball team- I had coached every one of those kids in soccer when they were first starting out and I thought "Dam, I deserve some credit for all of this, too. I drove every single one of those kids away from soccer into a sport where they could succeed."

h2oville rocket wrote:I attended my daughter's athletic banquet and it really hit home with me how much influence a kid's early coaches have. My daughter and her friend went up to receive tennis awards, another kid was All-State in Swimming, three were on the State championship softball team, another was the leading scorer in basketball and two were on the regional final volleyball team- I had coached every one of those kids in soccer when they were first starting out and I thought "Dam, I deserve some credit for all of this, too. I drove every single one of those kids away from soccer into a sport where they could succeed."

Very nicely done!

We need more people like you driving people further away from soccer. I think if we got it to the point where the USA couldn't field a national team then we wouldn't even have to hear about the sport once every 4 years! Think how much happier we'd all be!