Everyone know one, but 99.9 percent of us will never say anything to them. Why? Because in reality, it doesn't matter if we try to correct them - they are just going to continue doing it anyway.
And I'm not talking about people with bad grammar confusing "seen" and "saw".
I'm talking about bleacher coaches. Parents in the stands taking over the game, constantly yelling to the floor as if they are actually coaching.
And it's not just "Put pressure on the ball!" or "Take a strike!". The people that concern me, and annoy me, are the people who bark out actual play calls, tell each individual kid on the court what to do, and then complain to the refs as if whining from the stands will actually help.
I bring this up because I witnessed it again at the Brodhead/Lodi game Monday night. No, it wasn't a Cardinal parent calling directions, it was a Lodi parent. Two of them at that.
I had enough photos by the end of the third quarter that I decided to do something I usually don't - sit in the stands. And not just anywhere in the stands, right in the middle, courtside, away from the bench. Usually I smile when the ref makes a good call and a few huckleberry's complain. But this just got to be annoying. Every trip down each side of the court, these two men (in their 40's I would bet), were laying it all over the girls - telling them to press, telling them to switch to zone, calling out offensive plays. It got really annoying.
And the part I find even more annoying was their constant complaining of Brodhead continuing to score points in the blowout.
I am a man of mercy, but as a coach who has the fortunate blessing of a team who played a great game and have been allowed to get my subs significant time on the court, I would tell them to keep running the offense. Keep pressuring on 'D'. Keep scrapping after loose balls.
So what if you win 70-24, you're backups were in and they played well. They gained experience in the long run. So the team that got stomped feels bad. Reality check: There are worse things in life.
In this world, we are not all equal. Our feelings generally do not matter. And on the field of play, the only ones who quit will lose anyway.
Could these men have been AAU coaches? I've heard of schools in the Milwaukee area where the AAU coach runs the team from the second row behind the bench (which is just one more reason why I disagree with the entire AAU product, but that's a different argument for a different time). All I know is, if you are a fan - just cheer. Be loud. Make noise. If you are a parent, make the noise positive with the occasional "C'mon ref!" on an obvious bad call. If you are a student - please give a full relentless barrage of noise and lyrics. Pertaining to the game or not, it does not matter. Just be loud. Just be proud. And please - do it all game.
I will make this deal with the student sections in our coverage area. If you stand as one, and cheer as one, and are loud and crazy and have fun at any or every game you go to (and come with good numbers), I promise to take a few snapshots and run a photo. Be it just online in a blog or story, or in the actual newspaper itself - I will do it. As students, you need to take pride in your classmates on the court.
When I was in high school at Monroe, it was in the glory days of the student section. Routinely we would have over 100 kids standing in unison, taking no more than 30 seconds off from each calculated cheer. We would have party nights. Nights where we would dress as the 70s, or in all red, black or white. We would dress as wrestlers or halloween figures or anything we could think of. It made the games fun for everyone.
This area is missing out of that.
I figure that once the new year comes around and the seasons wind down, things pick up. However, I put it to the fans to make that happen soon.
And lastly, back to the parents - please don't bark out orders. Unless you are dressed up on the sideline, you must refrain from coaching or parenting to those on the floor until the final period hits 0:00. Got that? Thanks.
Until next time sports fans...........
And I'm not talking about people with bad grammar confusing "seen" and "saw".
I'm talking about bleacher coaches. Parents in the stands taking over the game, constantly yelling to the floor as if they are actually coaching.
And it's not just "Put pressure on the ball!" or "Take a strike!". The people that concern me, and annoy me, are the people who bark out actual play calls, tell each individual kid on the court what to do, and then complain to the refs as if whining from the stands will actually help.
I bring this up because I witnessed it again at the Brodhead/Lodi game Monday night. No, it wasn't a Cardinal parent calling directions, it was a Lodi parent. Two of them at that.
I had enough photos by the end of the third quarter that I decided to do something I usually don't - sit in the stands. And not just anywhere in the stands, right in the middle, courtside, away from the bench. Usually I smile when the ref makes a good call and a few huckleberry's complain. But this just got to be annoying. Every trip down each side of the court, these two men (in their 40's I would bet), were laying it all over the girls - telling them to press, telling them to switch to zone, calling out offensive plays. It got really annoying.
And the part I find even more annoying was their constant complaining of Brodhead continuing to score points in the blowout.
I am a man of mercy, but as a coach who has the fortunate blessing of a team who played a great game and have been allowed to get my subs significant time on the court, I would tell them to keep running the offense. Keep pressuring on 'D'. Keep scrapping after loose balls.
So what if you win 70-24, you're backups were in and they played well. They gained experience in the long run. So the team that got stomped feels bad. Reality check: There are worse things in life.
In this world, we are not all equal. Our feelings generally do not matter. And on the field of play, the only ones who quit will lose anyway.
Could these men have been AAU coaches? I've heard of schools in the Milwaukee area where the AAU coach runs the team from the second row behind the bench (which is just one more reason why I disagree with the entire AAU product, but that's a different argument for a different time). All I know is, if you are a fan - just cheer. Be loud. Make noise. If you are a parent, make the noise positive with the occasional "C'mon ref!" on an obvious bad call. If you are a student - please give a full relentless barrage of noise and lyrics. Pertaining to the game or not, it does not matter. Just be loud. Just be proud. And please - do it all game.
I will make this deal with the student sections in our coverage area. If you stand as one, and cheer as one, and are loud and crazy and have fun at any or every game you go to (and come with good numbers), I promise to take a few snapshots and run a photo. Be it just online in a blog or story, or in the actual newspaper itself - I will do it. As students, you need to take pride in your classmates on the court.
When I was in high school at Monroe, it was in the glory days of the student section. Routinely we would have over 100 kids standing in unison, taking no more than 30 seconds off from each calculated cheer. We would have party nights. Nights where we would dress as the 70s, or in all red, black or white. We would dress as wrestlers or halloween figures or anything we could think of. It made the games fun for everyone.
This area is missing out of that.
I figure that once the new year comes around and the seasons wind down, things pick up. However, I put it to the fans to make that happen soon.
And lastly, back to the parents - please don't bark out orders. Unless you are dressed up on the sideline, you must refrain from coaching or parenting to those on the floor until the final period hits 0:00. Got that? Thanks.
Until next time sports fans...........
