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Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:49 am
by Gob
Furious parents have been banned from watching their children play after-school sports - because it puts too much pressure on them.
Coventry Sports Foundation, which runs dozens of after-school clubs across the city, says it wants to create a ‘relaxing environment’ for youngsters to play competitive sports. The charitable trust also cites ‘child protection issues’ claiming children will get greater enjoyment from sports ‘without pressure from the sidelines’.
Parents have been turned away from the school gates and bosses are even rumoured to be considering hiring bouncers to enforce the ban.
Neil Carter, 47, branded the decision ‘ridiculous’ after he was booted out of the changing rooms minutes before his five-year-old son Joshua was due to play football. The father-of-three said: ‘I had hoped to watch Joshua for the first ten minutes because he hadn't been to an after-school club before. ‘He can be quite shy so I wanted to stay with him to make sure he got on alright. ‘We got him dressed and I was about to leave the room when someone from the Coventry Sports Foundation said we couldn't watch. ‘They said it was to do with the foundation's child protection policy. I was so disappointed. It's an absolutely ridiculous rule.’
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z10DdIMXWL
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:16 pm
by @meric@nwom@n
Well, having witnessed some really spectacularly bad behavior on the part of parents at these affairs, I can see the point of this. Too bad a few stupid parents have brought this about.
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:23 pm
by Big RR
I can see the point as well, @W, having been to many sporting events and seen the parents act horribly. However, I do not think a blanket ban is appropriate. When my daughter did gymnastics, parents were banned from attending any practices (they could go into a little lounge and watch through a window, but they were far away from the practice area and could neither be seen nor heard by the girls; further, parents acting up at meets wereintially warned, and then excluded from attending future meets idf the behavior happened again (it rarely did)--children were dismissed from the school/team if the parents ignored the ban and showed up anyway. I think something like this could be insitututed as well. The vast majority of parents just attend to enjoy the competition and watch their children--they should not be excluded from attending because of the others.
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:34 pm
by @meric@nwom@n
Well this is the new way of dealing with anything these days. Someone acts badly and you punish everyone.
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:59 pm
by Big RR
As I recall, that was the way the Army always handled things, the entire platoon was punished for one guy screwing up. Of course there was always the hope that the others would encourage the screw-up to shape-up (remember how they did that in Full Metal Jacket)? I guess we al have to go and kick the shit out of those misbehaving parents, zero tolerance or not.
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:10 pm
by @meric@nwom@n
They should be spayed and neutered, the lot of them.
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:21 pm
by dales
harsh, a/w harsh
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 1:56 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
I coached my daughters softball team for a few years. I've seen the whole range of parents. Those who are always great, those that should not be anywhere near childrens sports then those that never come to anything, sometimes not even to pick their kid up after a game or practice. (guess who took them home?)
Ban the bad, let the good come and watch.
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:48 pm
by Long Run
Some idiot puts explosives in his shoe, and we all have to take our shoes off when we go through security. Some pervs take pictures in the gym locker room, so everyone has to check their phones at the front desk. Some idiots yell inappropriately at their kids soccer games, and so no parents are allowed. Maybe there is a big island somewhere that these bottom percentiles can be dropped off so the rest of us don't have to deal with them. Any ideas on that Gob?
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:14 pm
by Sue U
Yeah well they tried that, LR, and look what it's got us now.
Re: Sports stupidity writ large
Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 1:05 am
by Gob
Long Run wrote: Maybe there is a big island somewhere that these bottom percentiles can be dropped off so the rest of us don't have to deal with them. Any ideas on that Gob?
Here?
