Be a fan and not a fanatic and bench bad behavior.

Good afternoon.  As we begin a new school year and the fall sports season, now is a good time to revisit the behavior expectations at our events.  

GOOD SPORTS BEHAVIOR (FOR PARENTS AND FANS)

1. Do not force your child to play. If your child is suffering from pain, injury, or they just plain do not like the game, then do not force them to play. Organized sports are meant to help children develop respect, responsibility, fairness, and good social skills while having fun. There are several other activities your child can participate in to gain the same discipline.
2. Set positive examples for your child to see. This means your child needs to see you being courteous towards the coaches, parents, and other players. Set an example by congratulating the other parents and other players.
3. Avoid shouting directions. Instead, shout words of encouragement. Unless you are one of the coaches, you should not be shouting out directions to your child or any others. Allow the coaches to do their job.
4. Players play, coaches coach, officials officiate, and spectators spectate.  Do not even think of approaching the court/mat or any officials in front of the players or other parents. If you are upset and have a serious concern, wait until you have calmed down, and choose a time and place that is out of earshot of others.
5. Do not act as a troubleshooter for potential problem parents. If you see trouble brewing, let someone in charge know. Do not try to rule an unruly parent; you might just be adding fuel to the fire. As difficult as it may be, try to avoid confrontation at all costs and allow the officials to deal with problem parents.
6. Do not try to “Coach through the Coach”. Do not spend a lot of time talking to the coach about how to conduct plays, training, and the skill levels of your child and other players. Just let them do their job.
7. Do not be so concerned about winning. Rather than dwelling on who won or lost, talk to your child about their experience with the game. If your child has specific concerns about their skills, work with them before the next game without over doing it.
8. Keep comments about your child and other players positive. Do not bad mouth the other players, their parents, coaches, or game officials. Remember your child will learn from your example.
9. Make it fun; remember it is only a game. Even if your child is not the team star, just enjoy the game. You will only have these moments once. Do not get so bent out of shape that you forget you are creating memories to look back on. You want these memories to be good ones.  Not everyone is a Division 1 athlete.  To be able to play on any level beyond high school is a great accomplishment.  7% of high school athletes go to play a varsity sport in college and from there fewer than 2% will go on to play professionally.   
10.   Your child’s success or lack of success in sports does not indicate what kind of parent you are.  But having an athlete that is coachable, respectful, a great teammate, mentally tough, resilient and tries their best is a direct reflection of your parenting.  

The Sharpsville Area School District believes good sportsmanship is an integral component of the education-based interscholastic athletic competition.  In order for good sportsmanship to prevail, coaches, student-athletes, and fans must display respect, fairness, honesty, and responsibility before, during and after all athletic contests.  We encourage fans to enthusiastically support their team, recognize outstanding performance of opponents, and always exhibit good sportsmanship in their words and actions. 
 
We have made a commitment to promote good sportsmanship by student-athletes, coaches and spectators at all athletic events. Profanity, degrading remarks, and intimidating actions directed at officials or competitors will not be tolerated and are grounds for removal from the event site and a potential ban of attending future events.   Thank you for your cooperation in the promotion of good sportsmanship!  Your admission is a privilege to observe a contest by student-athletes, not a ticket to display insensitive, offensive or unacceptable behavior.  The game needs to be about those on the court/mat not those in the stands.  Enjoy the contest and remember to be a fan not a fanatic.  
 I would like to give a sincere thanks to our parents and guardians for all the support that you provide to our student-athletes.  Thank you to our coaches, advisors, and directors for the long hours of time that all of you collectively give to our respective programs.  I would also like to thank our booster groups.  Your efforts are greatly appreciated and do not go unnoticed.  Booster group members are the true unsung heroes of our programs.