A couple of months ago I was at a soccer tournament in which my 9-year old son was playing. It was a regional tournament with kids traveling from various cities to attend and there were several teams competing in various age groups throughout the 2-day event. Kids as young as six years old all the way on up to 12- and 13-year olds were participating in a sport they clearly loved to play.

At one point during the tournament some of the parents—myself included—became particularly interested in a group of 7-year-olds competing in a game. Our kids were resting in between their scheduled competitions. What caught our attention, however, was not so much what was happening on the field as what was taking place on the sidelines.

There, just barely standing outside the white lines of the field was one very outspoken soccer mom. She wasn’t just offering gentle words of encouragement to her adorable little boy either. She was literally screaming at him, criticizing his every move, to the point of causing him to fowl because of inappropriate action towards another player. You can imagine the raucous that ensued when the official penalized her son as a result of her taunting; the ref then caught her wrath as well.

Meanwhile, spectators are staring at this spectacle as it unfolded which of course continued to go downhill. I—like the other parents watching—wanted this woman removed from the field. Each time she opened her mouth or encroached upon the white line the official warned her. After several warnings she was indeed ejected much to our relief.

Now, I ask you…is it any wonder that each year 20 million kids register for youth sports and 70 percent of them quit playing by age 13? (Source: The National Alliance for Sports) Is it any wonder that so many of today’s professional athletes display violent behavior towards a competing player during a game? Do ya’ think maybe parents have something to do with that?

I saw in a Google search of “sideline rage” where 52.9 percent of parents who filled out a questionnaire after watching a soccer game reported feeling angry at some point during the game. Sure, you expect to be upset or disappointed. But angry at a children’s game? Here are some other disturbing headlines I found:

• a Pennsylvania midget football game ended in a brawl involving over 100 coaches, players, parents, and fans.
• in Texas, a baseball coach who had been ejected from a game returned in his police uniform. He followed the umpire out of the parking lot and cited him for a spurious illegal turn.
• a disappointed Maryland father knocked down and kicked his son’s coach for leaving him off the All-Star team.
• a Florida baseball game for 7 and 8 year-olds ended with the parents brawling.
• in Oklahoma, a 36-year-old coach had to be restrained after choking a 15-year-old umpire who was making a few extra dollars umpiring a tee-ball game for 5 and 6 year-olds.

All of this reprehensible behavior further highlights the importance of the i9 Pledge, a commitment that should be followed by everyone involved in youth sports—coaches, players, officials, and parents. “I will do my best to model the sportsmanship-like behavior I wish my child to adopt, and to support the coach in making this the best possible experience for my child.” Isn’t that, after all, what the game is all about? Their experience; not ours.