Consider ways to help care for youth-sports officials
Since the inception of organized youth sports, there has been a need for officials to oversee the games on fields and courts. And today, there is a serious problem—nobody wants to do it anymore!
Officials have always had a raw deal in sports. Every decision they make upsets half of the fans and some of the coaches. Can you imagine if every decision you made upset half of your workplace? And what if it was considered acceptable for your colleagues to yell and scream their disapproval every time they didn’t like one of your decisions? Who would voluntarily sign up for that type of abuse?
For years, officiating was a way for people who played a sport when they were younger to stay involved. It is well known that officials don’t do it for the money! And there is no question that the abuse—verbal, or in some awful cases physical—has dramatically increased. People can debate the reasons for this all day, but the most obvious is that the games aren’t about having fun anymore. Parents who comprise the majority of the spectators are overstressed about their child progressing to the next level. And because there are kids playing as early as three years old, that stress level has multiplied. The results? Parents are worried about every little thing that happens during a game.