Last night, I was at my granddaughter's soccer game and I heard one of the greatest coach comments ever from the opposing coach. With his team trailing 3-0 about halfway through the second half, there was an incident near the sideline in which two girls (this is 5th grade) bumped shoulders while going for the ball and the girl on his team fell. A parent, probably her dad, yelled at the referee (who was about 15 years old), "Why don't you blow your whistle? That's what it's there for."
The coach immediately turned around and went right up to the guy, got in his face and said, "We don't do that on this team. You NEVER yell at an official. He's just a kid and he's trying his best. We're trying to teach our girls sportsmanship first of all and if you can't do that, you can go home and not come back for the rest of the season."
I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. After the game, I approached that coach, introduced myself as a basketball official and told him how much I appreciated his comments and attitude. He told me he also coaches his daughter's basketball and softball teams and he has zero tolerance for parents who yell at officials. I told him he could coach a team in my games anytime. We shook hands and I told him that even though my granddaughter's team won the game, his girls played hard and fair. He said that's the idea at this level.
I wish I could take the guy out and have him bronzed.
