Parents Do not have to attend soccer games!!! UPDATE

[SingleFather]

In the mail today came the paperwork for the Spring 2012 soccer sign up. Quick are they to get their money considering the last game was on Saturday!!!

Anyway in the packet there is this new highlighted note:

EFFECTIVE WITH THE SPRING 2012 SOCCER SEASON, ONE PARENT FROM YOUR CHILD'S HOUSEHOLD MUST ATTEND PRACTICE FOR U12 AND UNDER BOYS AND GIRLS OR YOUR CHILD MAY NOT PARTICIPATE IN ************** ************ ACTIVITIES

I call this the Paterno situation fall out. Nevermind that all coaches and assistants and referrees are background checked, the field is open and visible to the entire park, someone has decided that the kids cannot be dropped off at practice.

What a crock! I bet a ton of the girls will not be back. Many carpool with other parents and most parents do not stay. This works out better since there are some teams where the parents interfere with the coaching staff despit rules against it!

 

[Jennasis]

Better safe than sorry I say.

 

[happygirl]

I don't this is a horrible policy at all.

 

[Avery&Todd]

both of my boys play baseball (12 & 9) and I like going to practice - and having an hour and a half to just sit and read a book is a nice break!!

I wonder if the carpooling parent would count a the parent who has to stay for your soccer practice??

 

[crashbb]

both of my boys play baseball (12 & 9) and I like going to practice - and having an hour and a half to just sit and read a book is a nice break!!

I wonder if the carpooling parent would count a the parent who has to stay for your soccer practice??

It says it has to be from the child's household, so I doubt it.

If my teams had such a rule when I was a child, I'd likely not be able to play. Both my parents worked and the practices were right after school (i.e. started about 4pm), it would be a rare thing for either parent to be available at that point to come to the practice.

 

[5Slays]

I bet this has more to do with parents using soccer practice as a babysitting service than what is going on a Penn State.

I know at my youngest son's soccer practice (he plays U8) there is at least one child who is dropped off at soccer practice. Then the parents don't show up on time to pick the child up. So the coach has to wait around on these parents after practice is over. Also, usually if a group of kids rides together as long as the parent who drove them stays for practice, then there is no problem.

 

[dngnb8]

Not to mention the parents who are late to pick up their kids and make the coaches and others wait with their kids until they show up. But hey, its always someone elses fault....

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

In the mail today came the paperwork for the Spring 2012 soccer sign up. Quick are they to get their money considering the last game was on Saturday!!!

Anyway in the packet there is this new highlighted note:

[/B]
I call this the Paterno situation fall out. Nevermind that all coaches and assistants and referrees are background checked, the field is open and visible to the entire park, someone has decided that the kids cannot be dropped off at practice.

What a crock! I bet a ton of the girls will not be back. Many carpool with other parents and most parents do not stay. This works out better since there are some teams where the parents interfere with the coaching staff despit rules against it!

A background chack really doesn't make someone "safe"

And it's not just from the Penn State thing...It's been that way for a while here.

Parents shouldn't be put out because they have to supervise their children...annoying? Sure.....but they're your kids....

 

[Coconut36]

I bet this has more to do with parents using soccer practice as a babysitting service than what is going on a Penn State.

I know at my youngest son's soccer practice (he plays U8) there is at least one child who is dropped off at soccer practice. Then the parents don't show up on time to pick the child up. So the coach has to wait around on these parents after practice is over. Also, usually if a group of kids rides together as long as the parent who drove them stays for practice, then there is no problem.

I agree. My husband coaches and it's not uncommon for kids to be waiting a considerable amount of time after practice for their ride home or for him to have to call and hunt parents or guardians down to pick a kid up.

I don't see this as a negative or a bad rule at all and don't think it has anything to do with Penn State but maybe some parental issues they have experiences with kids being left at practice well past time being up.

Just because they are signed up for a sport doesn't mean you don't play a role anymore or that it is a dumping ground so a parent can go run around and do as they please. It is still your child and maybe it helps get some parents involved/paying attention to what is going on as well.

 

[skater]

I think this rule is OK, as long as they also allow your kid to stay in your room if they travel to a tournament .

 

[sam_gordon]

I can see this for U8 & below (and I think that's stretching it). Our son now plays U8... They won't let parents stay for practice (select team). We're fine with that. At 7, 8yo, the kids should be able to listen & obey coaches. 9-12yo? I don't think this is a good plan. It's not bad, I just don't think it's worth it. As mentioned, this takes car pools out of the mix, which could be the only way some kids participate.

 

[mjkacmom]

My DH coaches U14 and U9 soccer teams, and doesn't mind if the parents don't stay - most just drop off. Now, those who come back late - that's a different story. That wouldn't work here - I just have too many kids to stay at practices. Tonight I have to get two kids to two different practices, one to dance, one to theater... When I was a kid, 8 year olds would just ride their bikes to practices - now, parents are expected to drive them, and just sit there? At least ask to help out. DH doesn't feel like a babysitter.

 

[Magic Mom]

I bet this has more to do with parents using soccer practice as a babysitting service than what is going on a Penn State.

I know at my youngest son's soccer practice (he plays U8) there is at least one child who is dropped off at soccer practice. Then the parents don't show up on time to pick the child up. So the coach has to wait around on these parents after practice is over. Also, usually if a group of kids rides together as long as the parent who drove them stays for practice, then there is no problem.

 

[TinkPirateMom]

I think it's a fine rule for the younger ones but U12 teams should be able to get dropped off.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

What about the single/divorced parents or if your spouse is working and you have another child that has to be somewhere for their activity?
I'd say they are protecting their butt with the Penn State incident.

12 year olds are old enough to babysit themselves!

 

[Becky2005]

I bet this has more to do with parents using soccer practice as a babysitting service than what is going on a Penn State.

That was my thought....seems to me they had it already ready to go before anything with Penn State.

I bet anything -- someone was late one too many times to pick up their child and it boils down to this issue.

 

[tlbwriter]

Yeah, I wouldn't assume this has anything to do with the Penn State situation. My first thought was that they're tired of kids not being picked up, siblings being left unsupervised to "watch," parents saying they didn't get information because "I wasn't at practice," etc. It's going to hurt some families, which is unfortunate. As usual, a few people mess things up, and everybody else ends up paying for it.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Where am I going for an hour anyway? It takes 10 to get to the field, 10 minutes to get home, so that's forty minutes of driving, OR I stay in the car or on the side of the field and read or something. Yeah, I'm staying.

 

[ICF]

Seems silly to me....I've never heard of that rule in any of my kids baseball, basketball or soccer leagues.

I can understand the rule at a certain age -- but for a U12 league it seems silly.

I would guess many parents that carpool kids aren't going to be happy.

 

[FireDancer]

We used to ride our bikes to and from practice from time to time when we were that age. Some of our practices started before my parents made it home from work since their schedules weren't consistent. I can't remember my parents being at my practices at that point for any sport. Our baseball fields were at the end of my grandparents street so we'd bike to their house and then walk to practice.

I am surprised more kids that age don't get themselves to practice. I know on the DIS kids are over protected snowflakes a lot of the time but out in the real world kids ride bikes to practice.

I get their reasoning but I don't think they thought it all the way through.