I would venture a guess and say I've probably done more youth games than anyone on the board (at least 2500 - I'm not kidding). I was on the Board of our local youth rec league for 13 years and have worked youth games for at least seven different organizations. I have seen the sportsmanship level go from bad to awful. I'm sure there are tons of reasons for it.
Here's some of the mechanisms we have put in place in recent years in our local league (over 1500 kids in grades 3-12):
1) no coaching box
2) any profanity is a flagrant technical (except at HS level)
3) any ejection for unsportmanlike conduct is an automatic indefinite suspension which can only be ended by appealing to the Board
4) no backcourt press if lead is 15 or more
5) no backcourt guarding at all in 3rd and 4th grade
6) score turned off in 3rd and 4th if lead is 15 or more
7) (this is the big one) coaches are totally responsible for the behavior of their player's parents - indirect technicals can be called on coaches for parent misbehavior, however, the coaches are given a chance to deal with the parent first
[Edited by Mark Padgett on Feb 22nd, 2005 at 02:23 PM]
__________________
Yom HaShoah
|