Working Together to Address Behavior Issues in High School Sports

Social media timelines are jam-packed with videos of shouting, violence and poor sportsmanship at high school athletic events across the nation. Records of this bad behavior are quick to rack up views, but this culture ultimately detracts from the value that youth activities intend to provide. In this article, a high school student-athlete, parent, coach, official and athletic director discuss their experiences at these events. They provide unique solutions and methods to band together to combat this negative culture.

Contacts
Student-Athlete: Gabriella Mendez is a senior girls varsity soccer captain and student council president at Freedom High School in Oakley, California. Mendez has participated in athletics for all four years of her high school career and attends sporting events as a “student section leader.”

Parent: Norma Chayrez is the parent of two high school boys basketball players in Oakley, California. Chayrez has dedicated time to attend all her children’s games and develop relationships with the team’s parent network.

Coach: Jason Hodges has been a coach for 17 years. He currently leads the Stephenville (Texas) High School girls basketball team.

Official: Rob Tesch is a high school and college official from Montana. He has officiated interscholastic basketball for 23 years and works closely with the Montana High School Association to communicate and educate his peers on rules changes.

Athletic Director: Lisa Langston serves as athletic director of the Fort Worth (Texas) Independent School District, which includes 21 high schools and 25 middle schools. Langston has worked in athletic administration for nearly three decades.

What are some common behavior issues at high school sporting events?

Parent: I’ve witnessed family members go after the refs when they don’t agree with calls. Sometimes, players don’t like the calls that they’re getting, or the type of confrontation on defense that they’re getting, and they have thrown punches at their teammates. I’ve seen fights break out in the stands over who the fans are cheering for.

Coach: We’ve had parents that get a little too mouthy in the stands, but we haven’t had to kick anyone out of our home games. I’ve been at other schools where the game had to be stopped to remove fans because of their belligerence toward the officials. It’s a major distraction. As a coach, we’ve got to keep the players focused. We’ve got to stay calm and keep our kids in the game. That’s why coaches rely on game day administrators to address situations when a fan is ejected or asked to leave.

Official: For the most part, it’s not as bad as you see on social media. I think social media posts all the negative. In reality, a lot of the bad behavior is yelling at the officials for inconsistency or lack of rules knowledge. I very seldom see something as far as racism or cheating. Its passion, but the passion is multiplied by the lack of education.

What solutions work to combat behavior issues at athletic events?

Student-Athlete: Some kids want to cause problems at these events. We’ve had instances at games where students did decide to get in a fight, but we had our administration, the police and our athletic director there, which really helped to control the situation because then not many people ran over or formed a crowd out of fear of getting in trouble for being a bystander. Students should also hold each other accountable and intervene when the student section acts disrespectful.

Parent: In the beginning of the game, share a quick announcement saying, “Hey, this is what is expected of you. No matter what, be courteous of others. You’re more than welcome to cheer for your team. But do not use profanities or engage in confrontation.” There should be a zero tolerance where if you get reprimanded and pulled out of the game, you are not welcome to come to the next game.

Coach: Every sport at every level has 50 million different rules that have been in existence forever, and some rules change constantly and there’s so many updates to try to keep up with. During preseason meetings, we give our parents the main points of emphasis if any rules have changed. We try to keep them educated.

Athletic Director: We make available a sportsmanship manual that parents have to look at during our required preseason meetings. There’s a statement about behavior on the game tickets so when people buy the ticket they know the expectation for their behavior.

What can people in your role do to help?

Student-Athlete: Our school has implemented Student Section Leaders, who are selected students who attend games. They’re supposed to be positive and try to encourage each other and discourage disrespectful behavior. They have the power to change the tone of the crowd.

Parent: Parents who frequent games recognize other parents and form a bond. They sit with each other or at least say hello. There was a time where I noticed another parent seemed like they were getting in an uncomfortable situation with another spectator in the stands. Specifically, because I knew that type of parent and I’ve chatted with them prior, I felt for them and knew that something was about to transpire. I was fearful for their safety. At that time, my husband got up and he said, “Whoa, let’s try to de-escalate this and solve the problem. We’re here to watch a game.” It’s a good idea to form bonds with other parents and try to look out for one another and try to solve problems among ourselves so it doesn’t escalate.

Coach: It helps to have a proactive coaching staff that will interact with your parents. Coaches need to be involved in their interstate coaches associations. Coaches need to show model attitudes and work ethics to be an example for the kids. You can’t throw a fit or expect to get your way all the time.

Official: Officials need more continued education. Once you become a master official, you don’t have to retest. All you have to do is work five contests a year and attend six study clubs. Some of the study clubs are “good-old-boy” clubs where they go watch football and talk about a couple plays here and there. We need more requirements for officials. A lot of officials referee the same way they did when they started 30 or 40 years ago. The game’s evolved, the rules have changed, athletes are different, offenses and defenses are different. I’m a big advocate of requiring officials to attend training camps in the summer. I host optional study camps to discuss certain situations, rules and philosophies to make officiating more consistent throughout the state, and that seems to be helpful. But if officials are not required to attend those, they can just keep the status quo and stand as they are.

Athletic Director: Athletic directors need to be visible and establish relationships. If athletic directors have a great relation with parents, the parents don’t want to disappoint you as the administrator. With that visibility, the parents also know that you care about the kids and about what happens with our sports. I did have a parent I knew who was being unfiltered at a game, and before he blew up I visited him and explained what was wrong. After that he went ahead without incident and politely left. I saw him at another game, and I think he had learned his lesson because he sat there quietly with his wife.

How can each group work together to prevent future bad behavior?

Student-Athlete: Our student leaders started reaching out more in the community through a Facebook parents club page. Parents will repost everything and it’s really supportive. Our administrator, Dr. Mio, always encourages students to go to the games, dress up in theme and have fun in a positive way.

Official: I’ve seen a heightened awareness from athletic directors, and their involvement is huge. If somebody is addressed by their own athletic director it has more weight than if it is by an official, especially when officials are the ones the crowd is yelling at.

Athletic Director: Athletic directors need regular dialogue with officials, parents and state associations to understand concerns and frustrations.