Angry soccer moms yelling at referee during kids’ game.
“Did you see what that coach did?”
“That didn’t really just happen, did it?”
“Someone’s got to say something to him!”
The sidelines were filled with parents and grandparents watching a preschool soccer game — the last one of the season. And none of us, we could agree, had witnessed anything like this.
For the sake of this story, we’ll call the two teams on the field the Apples and the Oranges.
The coach on the opposing team (the apples) repeatedly blocked the player’s on the Oranges — from scoring. At one point, one of the Oranges was dribbling down the field, headed straight for the goal.
“She’s going to score,” yelled a parent.
“No she’s not,” said the coach, kicking the ball away as the player reached the goal.
The coaches, mind you, are there to verbally guide the preschoolers. They are not participants. Or, at least, they’re not supposed to be.
These are 3 and 4-year-olds. Playing rec soccer for the town. The children regularly kick the ball into the wrong goal. The score isn’t kept (or known).
When the ball went out-of-bounds near our team’s goal, Coach Apple would give it a swift kick — all the way down the field toward his team’s goal.
He also elbowed his way in, picked the ball up and kicked it far away from the players when they were mid-play.
Near the end of the game, he took a cluster of players (most of whom would’ve been sitting out, due to the number of players on the field at a time) and had them line up in front of the goal. His plan? Keep Team Orange from scoring — at all costs.
This was my first season as a sports parent. We have one child playing soccer, the other plays softball. This season, all the coaches and parents on both teams have been nothing short of fantastic. They’ve been so incredible that, as recently as last weekend, I thought “what is with parents complaining about out-of-control parents and coaches?”
Yes, I’ve heard the stories and seen the viral videos, but that wasn’t our experience.
Until now.
I waited for someone to respond when the one spectator said “someone’s got to say something to him.” Everyone was annoyed, but no one wanted to speak up. And, frankly, I don’t blame them. Being the rager on the sidelines is never a good look.
But, apparently, I was ready to sport the ugly.
I started simple, and calm.
“Coach, come on,” I said, my voice loud enough to be heard, but not raised. “Let them score.”
He blocked the goal again — and intercepted the players mid-play, kicking the in-bounds ball upfield.
“Dude, they’re preschoolers,” I said, a little louder this time. I remained seated. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t look my way but did separate his legs as Team Orange came toward the goal.
Until he didn’t.
The interference continued. I urged my husband — who is the more outspoken, less even-tempered of the two of us — to speak up.
“What do you expect me to do,” he asked. “Fight the guy.”
I didn’t answer.
While I, of course, did not want anyone to throw actual punches, I believed a verbal womping was necessary. At this point, the children — did I mention they are 3 and 4? — were asking why “the grown-up” was blocking them from scoring.
My heart raced and I was pissed — annoyed for every player on Team Orange and Team Apple. Why was this man allowed to teach children not only the fundamentals of the game, but sportsmanship?
I stood up, planning to remain off-field, but get close enough to him that he would have to hear me.
At that moment, they called the game. Early. It was over, but I wasn’t done.
I desperately wanted to tell him just what I (we) thought.
But then my husband reminded me of the sign that hangs at my daughter’s softball field.
He was right. But, before sitting back down, I turned to the handful of Team Orange players on the bench who were still trying to make sense of the coach’s behavior.
“Think of this,” I said. “You all played so well and worked together as a team that he didn’t know what to do. You played fairly and had fun. He did not play fairly and, most certainly, did not have fun. Good job.”
That said, if the game hadn’t ended when it did, the story would’ve ended differently.
And the videos from the day may have ended up online.
