Part VIIII of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits!

Since I have a degree in Psychology, let me “analyze” why some parents and coaches behave like lunatics during baseball games or other youth sports. First, let me be clear that the overwhelming majority of parents and coaches are great people. All coaches and parents are not crazy people that are obsessed with winning, but a very small minority clearly “cross the line” of what is and is not acceptable behavior for adults in youth sports.

Unfortunately, this very small minority who “cross the line” are often loud, rude, disruptive, and sometimes verbally or even physically abusive toward officials. If 99% of adults behave, the 1% who don’t behave are so disruptive they can easily ruin what should be a fun day on the field for players, other coaches and parents, and especially officials.

So, here are just a few of the reasons for bad adult behavior in youth sports:

Unconditional love for their child.

Thinking their child has the talent to be a pro.

Overly competitive personalities

Today’s “social media” driven attitudes.

Unconditional love- Having this feeling toward your child is a good thing, except that what comes with unconditional love, are the hopes, dreams, and needs of parents who desperately want the children they created to succeed in life, not just in school, work, and relationships, but in everything they do, including what happens on the baseball field. Anybody who stands in the way of their child’s success is an enemy of the parent. The umpire who called out “little Johnny” on strike three when the outspoken parent standing 100 feet away thought it wasn’t a strike is a sitting duck for this one.

Thinking their child has the talent to be a pro is very common from the ages of about 7-12. When some kids run circles around their friends at very young ages, and dominate whatever game they play, parents are blinded by thoughts of free college and pro contracts.

Some people are highly competitive, and that’s okay as long as you aren’t a parent or coach who is ruthlessly obsessed with winning nine-year-old baseball games in recreational leagues that are supposed to be an atmosphere of “good sportsmanship and friendly competition.”

Today with social media, people can say whatever they want, whenever they want with very little fear of consequences. This attitude causes some people to show less respect for authority figures than they should, and when they disagree with calls made by youth sports officials, show no restraint in letting their opinion be heard loud and clear.

Combining unconditional love for children that parents desperately want to succeed with very competitive personalities and an attitude of “I can say whatever I want when I disagree” is a recipe for disaster. This type of disaster happens in youth sports when an overly competitive adult “crosses the line”, causing arguments or even fights.

Next time I’ll discuss some of these “disasters” and the negative effects they have on both kids playing the games, and officials who must manage them.

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Randy Corwin is a veteran Massachusetts youth baseball umpire and author of the book, OBNOXIOUS PARENTS AND RUTHLESS COACHES, which is now available at Amazon Books, Barnes and Noble’s online bookstore, and at An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Cafe in Plainville, MA. This post is part nine of a series of articles based on the book.