Why do we let this happen?
I watched some kids from a North St. Charles area high school team out at the IAABO tournament at Francis Howell Central this past week act like jerks while sitting in the stands in their uniforms, heckling a very good 2020 player from the St. Louis west county area. His school was playing another team from the Wentzville area and these hecklers were rooting for the Wentzville team and really laying it on the star from the west county team. It got worse as the Wentzville team whittled away at a 14 point lead and finally upset the west county team.
I don't mind kids getting energized and boisterous about a game but this became personal and they were laying it on thick. Every time he came down the floor, they would raise their voices and cheer any and every mistake he or his teammates made. At one point, he lost the ball out of bounds and fell into the crowd, there were words spoken and I thought there was going to be a fight.
There were parents in the crowd and there were extra officials because they were evaluating the officials that were refereeing the games. Now that I think back on it, I feel like I should have stood up and said something, like "enough is enough!" "You can cheer but this is not the place to get personal". No adult stepped in and by the end of the game the players on the court were ready to fight these lippy players sitting in the stands. Some of the west county teams coaches were upset with the lack of officiating controls of the crowd. It all could have been better handled.
I saw this north St. Charles team play a game later that night. If they played as well as they lipped off, they would be really, really good. Well, they are not. They are really, really bad.
Do these kids think about the uniform on their backs? They are walking advertising for their school? Their bad behavior is a reflection, not only on themselves, but their school as well. When we wear school colors to a game and act badly, we are tainting the image of our school. Bad behavior by one or two can ruin years of a well-developed reputation of a school.
Nuff said.
Let's remember to step in and say something appropriate when people, whether students or fans in the stands, get out of hand. Officials and players deserve better.
I don't mind kids getting energized and boisterous about a game but this became personal and they were laying it on thick. Every time he came down the floor, they would raise their voices and cheer any and every mistake he or his teammates made. At one point, he lost the ball out of bounds and fell into the crowd, there were words spoken and I thought there was going to be a fight.
There were parents in the crowd and there were extra officials because they were evaluating the officials that were refereeing the games. Now that I think back on it, I feel like I should have stood up and said something, like "enough is enough!" "You can cheer but this is not the place to get personal". No adult stepped in and by the end of the game the players on the court were ready to fight these lippy players sitting in the stands. Some of the west county teams coaches were upset with the lack of officiating controls of the crowd. It all could have been better handled.
I saw this north St. Charles team play a game later that night. If they played as well as they lipped off, they would be really, really good. Well, they are not. They are really, really bad.
Do these kids think about the uniform on their backs? They are walking advertising for their school? Their bad behavior is a reflection, not only on themselves, but their school as well. When we wear school colors to a game and act badly, we are tainting the image of our school. Bad behavior by one or two can ruin years of a well-developed reputation of a school.
Nuff said.
Let's remember to step in and say something appropriate when people, whether students or fans in the stands, get out of hand. Officials and players deserve better.
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