kevinwalsh
02-08-2009, 09:10 PM
I took my sunday morning excursion through the Reach 11 Recreation Area. After a couple hours I approached the sports complex by the Cave Creek Road. The desert tracks had been deserted except for me, but I found the soccer pitches being used by many children.
The youngsters didn't seem to mind the moderate rain shower that was coming down, but it soon occurred to me that they were being subjected to something more annoying than even the heaviest downpour. Adults were shouting instructions to them from the sidelines very frequently, nearly continuously. This phenomenon transcended nationalities. European-Americans were shouting in English, and Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were shouting in Spanish. I felt like telling them all to keep silent and let the children have fun and concentrate on what they're doing or if they must make noise do so only to cheer for them.
My brother and I were in a youth soccer league in 1979. We actually had fun. We weren't subjected to this sort of micromanagement. I wonder when this sort of behaviour came in vogue and why. There's nothing wrong with adults encouraging athletic excellence among children, but there's a time and place for everything. If they take notes during the match and make their constructive criticisms afterward, the children won't be so distracted while playing (and perhaps as a result they'll actually do better).
The youngsters didn't seem to mind the moderate rain shower that was coming down, but it soon occurred to me that they were being subjected to something more annoying than even the heaviest downpour. Adults were shouting instructions to them from the sidelines very frequently, nearly continuously. This phenomenon transcended nationalities. European-Americans were shouting in English, and Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were shouting in Spanish. I felt like telling them all to keep silent and let the children have fun and concentrate on what they're doing or if they must make noise do so only to cheer for them.
My brother and I were in a youth soccer league in 1979. We actually had fun. We weren't subjected to this sort of micromanagement. I wonder when this sort of behaviour came in vogue and why. There's nothing wrong with adults encouraging athletic excellence among children, but there's a time and place for everything. If they take notes during the match and make their constructive criticisms afterward, the children won't be so distracted while playing (and perhaps as a result they'll actually do better).