By now the fall high school sports seasons are all underway. Before each season begins, parents, coaches and student athletes gather for a required meeting to discuss a number of rules that need to be adhered to by parents and the athletes. Items that are covered are eligibility rules, player and parent conduct, and additional rules such as game day dress code for the players that coaches might put in place for their particular sport.
For the most part, all those concerned follow the rules, but as in every case some don’t.
You might be surprised to learn that across the country it is the parents that are the biggest offenders of the conduct rule.
I recently read an article by Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, and Tom Keating, executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association. In the article they mentioned a national survey of more then 2,000 high school athletic directors about what they liked least about their job, and 62.3 percent of them said it was dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.
Here’s another stat that drives the point home even more.
The men and women who referee or umpire those contests agree. Nearly 60 percent of new officials registered in Iowa in 2016-2017 did not return to officiate in 2017-2018, and unruly parents were often cited as a major reason why.
High school athletic directors will also tell you it’s getting more and more difficult to find officials for all athletic events.
I would hope that the coaches, players, parents and fans of our local schools would hold themselves to a higher standard and conduct themselves in a way that makes the events enjoyable for all.