Sports Parents

I've played sports since I was quite young and I've now had a child in sports for four years.  I've seen many kinds of parents over the years, here are some of my favorites.

1.  The "random yell" parent.  This is the parent that picks a phrase that might be applicable in some situations during the game such as "Get there!", "Faster!" or my personal favorite "Gowafter it!"  This parent then yells this same phrase over and over ever thirty seconds or so for the entire game, for the entire season.  They are from then on known as the "Get there!" guy, the "Faster!" lady, or Mr. "Gowafter it!".  These people often do not realize that they are called this name at dinner tables around town, but we thank them for the conversation starter.

2.  The "BOOOO" parent.  Do not be this parent.  It is ok to voice displeasure every now and then, and there might be times when it seems appropriate.  You do not want to be known as the boooer.  This means that you don't cheer except to put someone else down.  What are you teaching your child?  I mean really.

3.  The "my child is the greatest" parent.  Your child is great, so are all the other children on the team.  It's o.k. to point out when your child is doing well, just remember that other players are doing well too.  When you point out that your child is the greatest you are either wrong, or you are gloating.  Either way you look a dork.

4. The snack parent.  This is the parent that either brings snacks or makes sure someone else does to every practice and game.  These are the parents that seem really organized and make the rest of us feel bad.  Secretly we are glad to have them on the team because we totally don't have time to be this organized.

5.  The encouraging parent.  This parent only says positive things.  Often you will listen to this parent cheer because you are sure that they will yell something negative and you want to catch them because they can't be that good, can they?  Usually they are, they really are, and because of them you believe in humanity just a little bit more.  You secretly wish you could be this parent, but know you will fail eventually.

6.  The "organized cheer" parent.  This is the parent that knows all the rhyming cheers, like the cheerleaders with uniforms know.  I don't really know these cheers.  You sometimes feel like you need to join in these cheers, that's a good thing because it builds a sense of community with the other parents.  It's also acceptable to just opt out.  The neat thing about these organized cheers is that no one really notices if you participate or not.

7.  The "silent" parent.  This is the parent that shows up to all the games, all the practices, sits alone, and never says anything.  No one knows who this person is, which child is theirs, or even if they have one.  Hmmm....  Not every team has this parent, but when you do it's a little odd.

8.  The knows everyone parent.  This person knows everyone there, in the play, away from the play, probably even the snack bar guy.  You will find out that they have three or four children in the sport and have been doing this WAY too long.  They are also inherently good at remembering names.  Do not feel bad that you are not as good as them at remembering who everyone is, this is their special talent, they are awesome.

9.  The take charge parent.  This person is either great or really annoying, depending totally on their personality.  You will likely have to deal with both.  Sometimes this person is awesome, they are positive and truly trying to help the youth sport organization because they think it's important for children.  If this is the case, offer to help, you will learn a lot and be totally impressed.  Then, there are the ones that try to take over for their own child.  If this is the case just stay out of the way, it's safer.

10.  The "crazy cheer" parent.  This is my favorite.  I think it's important for the children to have one of these on each team.  This is the parent that yells loud and proud and dances.  It is a huge embarrassment for their child, but when they yell positive cheers it actually helps the whole team and isn't too bad for their son or daughter either.  Yes, it's silly, but it's oh so neat to get people to realize IT'S ONLY A GAME!

So, go, be sports parents.  Go, go I say, enjoy the early morning drives with your child, the lifelong friends you will all make, and the great conversations you have after the game.  You can be one of these, or make up your own but remember, be positive.