g for the U.S. OlympicCommittee, has founded an intervention program called Coach Effictiveness Training(CET). Thethree hour program has been administered to some 12,000 youth coaches, and it emphasizes thecoachs effect on the childrens personal, social, and skill development, while putting lessemphasis on winning. The idea is that winning takes care of itself if your atheletes arewell-trained, not afraid of failure, enjoy their teammates, and have a good relationshoip with thecoach, says Crawford. Results thus far have been ecouraging. Normally, about forty percent ofall children who play youth sports drop out each year. On teams with a coach who has completedCET, thr drop out rate is only six percent(APA 1996). The CET may curb the aggressive coaches, but how will that other monster, the parent, beslayed? I was lucky. My father taught me the game of baseball, but never pressured me to play.He taught me to love it, and therefore, I loved playing. If I made an error or struck out, he was thefirst one there to tell me it was okay, and that I would have plenty more chances to be the hero.Unfortunately, not all children are as lucky. Mike Finneran had to cancel his spring baseballseason for third-through eigth-grade boys in Naperville, Ill. due to parents who were constantlyberating their children, disputing every umpires call, and peppering their speech with theF-word. Ive had three heart-attacks, triple bypass surgery, and a stroke, says the fifty-year oldFinneran. I dont need the stress of these guys fighting(Lord 2000). Finneran is not the onlyyouth organizer stressing over the sudden rash of parental violence. A midget football gameended when a brawl erupted involving a 100 players, coaches, parents, and fans. While attacks onyouth league umpires have become such a frequent occurrence that the National Association ofSports Officials recently began offering a new benefit to its 19,000 members: assualtinsurance(Lord 2000).According to ...
