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Assignment 4.3

The document discusses a recreation director's concern about overly competitive and pressure-filled youth soccer games. Parents and coaches were yelling at and criticizing children, making the game less fun and potentially harming their development. The director wonders how to address this issue to refocus the games on learning, fun, and doing one's best.

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Elysa Marie Alberio
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223 views

Assignment 4.3

The document discusses a recreation director's concern about overly competitive and pressure-filled youth soccer games. Parents and coaches were yelling at and criticizing children, making the game less fun and potentially harming their development. The director wonders how to address this issue to refocus the games on learning, fun, and doing one's best.

Uploaded by

Elysa Marie Alberio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Assignment 4.

5/31/2023

Elysa Marie Alberio

Case Problem:

COACHING CHILDREN—AND PARENTS—ON THE SOCCER FIELD

Jeanie pulled into a parking space at the local soccer field and reached for her latte. It was Saturday
morning, and she wished she could say she was looking forward to meeting her commitment to the
community. She had signed on as director of recreation for children and youth in the small town where
she grew up. She had such fond memories of playing baseball and soccer when she was a kid, but things
were quite different now. The coaches and parents took the whole thing so seriously. They put so much
pressure on the kids to win, yelling at them from the sidelines, reprimanding them when they came off
the field. It was becoming difficult to find referees because the parents and coaches harassed them so
much about their calls. It was embarrassing to watch; and of greater concern was seeing how it affected
the children. Some claimed they were “no good” at soccer. Others were beginning to bully teammates
who never scored a goal. “They’re only 8 years old,” thought Jeanie. “Shouldn’t the focus be on fun,
learning some skills (e.g., being a team player), and doing the best you can?” Jeanie wondered how she
should handle this problem. As she walked onto the field, she wondered if anyone had written a book on
the etiquette of watching from the sidelines.

CRITICAL THINKING

1. How would you respond to Jeanie’s query about how an overly competitive context could affect
school-age children, both in the short and the long term? 2. What is the role of a recreation director
in this situation? How might people in leadership roles approach parents, coaches, and players to
change the overall tone of the game?

Answer:

I would agree with Jeanie that the focus of the game was for fun and learning new skill, unleashing
own talent and not merely to win the game. The coaches, parents and even the crowd put so much
pressure that leads to the children’s incapability and hinders them to put give their best shot.

The recreation director in this situation plays a very important role. He must remind everyone that
the competition is not the basis of who is the loser or the winner for them to judge. He must also
stop the bullying inside the crowd and he needs to remind the children to have fun and play
unbotherly.
At the very beginning of any competition or game people in leadership should remind the public
including parents, coaches and players to have fun and enjoy. A game is just a game that they
should not take it personally. Bullying is not allowed and permitted.
To the players, they need to give their best. They should be motivated to win and be pressured to
win. In this way, the hate will be minimized and love and respect will be spread.

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