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

[Luv'sTink]

I don't have a problem with it at all.

My son broke his nose before a game and I was glad I was there to take him to the doctor. YES, you do need to take them to the doctor for a broken nose because they worry about the orbital socket not the nose its self.

Another team, another time, Dad was at practice and decided to take a run around the park, city park, his son also broke his nose. We were scrambling trying to find him.

 

[Missy1961]

Another Troll thread backfires.... lol

 

[SingleFather]

Better safe than sorry I say.

Safe from what exactly?

 

[diznygirl]

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.

That works if you have no other commitments. I would regularly drop off my daughter on my way to work, and my husband would pick her up on his way home from his work. With this new rule, she wouldn't be able to participate.

It's a rule targeted at the parents that punishes the children.

 

[SingleFather]

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.

My U10 daughter practices 90 minutes twice a week. It is about 10 to the field. I can go shopping, go to the chiropractor, and do other things. If leaving the kids was a problem, we would hear about it from our coach. But it could be that other parents were causing issues. I just don't understand the rule as written that makes it seem like there is no carpooling option.

At first glance it seems an kneejerk reaction.

I wonder how they will enforce it. There is already a "rule" about wearing only the approved practice uniform. That didn't last past the first practice!

 

[scrapquitler]

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!

I know several of my friends who would not be able to have their children participate in soccer because of this. I've got friends who need to drop child #1 off for soccer practice at XYZ field for 4:00, then child #2 has to be dropped off for basketball practice somewhere else in town at 4:30, and child #3 needs to be picked up from Dance class at 5:00. No way she can be in at child #1's soccer practice and get her other children to their activities.

I'm guessing that the OP will find a lot fewer kids on the teams next year.

 

[NotUrsula]

...

It's a rule targeted at the parents that punishes the children.

Which isn't remotely new since the PSU scandal; rules that fit that definition have been around for a long time.

I doubt this has anything to do with sexual abuse precautions unless what they are trying to prevent is a child being abused inside an automobile, but in that case I would think that they would have instead said that carpooling is not allowed.

I think that the two most likely scenarios that account for this charge are unsupervised kids flaunting behavior rules, or parents failing to show up on time to pick up their kids after practice. Have you spoken to anyone in charge about why the rule is being implemented?

 

[cari12]

I don't think this is a bad policy at all. If your soccer is like ours, there are at least 8 teams on the field with about 12 kids per team and each team has a coach and an assistant coach. The coaches are volunteer parents unless it is a Training & Development night. Being that there are so many kids and it is outdoors at a public park, I don't think parents should look at it as a babysitting service. DH and/or I stayed for every one of their games and practises.

 

[Becky2005]

I don't have a problem with it at all.

My son broke his nose before a game and I was glad I was there to take him to the doctor. YES, you do need to take them to the doctor for a broken nose because they worry about the orbital socket not the nose its self.

Another team, another time, Dad was at practice and decided to take a run around the park, city park, his son also broke his nose. We were scrambling trying to find him.

That could have been an issue too. I know they should have emergency numbers but if a parent is RIGHT THERE when an accident happens, it's easier to get medical attention. My son got his front teeth knocked out at school (permanent ones) & luckily I was home, close by & got him to the dentist within 30 minutes....they were able to save at least 1 of them. We found out recently, one didn't do so good but that worked out in the end because after consulting the orthodontist to keep the space open turns out it will be better to shift other teeth over & the bad tooth works since it has to come out anyway.

If I hadn't gotten him there so soon after the accident the chances of any tooth surviving would have not been nearly as good.

 

[C.Ann]

My only concern would be a single parent household.. If the single parent has to work, will they allow a grandparent or some other relative to attend instead?

Otherwise it's probably a good idea..

 

[golfgal]

When we moved here we just let the kids ride their bikes to soccer practice, they were going into 6th grade. Didn't think anything of it because we did that in our old town too. Come to find out that a parent had to be at practice for ALL age levels, so up to age 18--um, right . It's actually really sad that kids can't have some freedom. It's one thing if the kid is 4 but 18??

 

[sam_gordon]

That could have been an issue too. I know they should have emergency numbers but if a parent is RIGHT THERE when an accident happens, it's easier to get medical attention. My son got his front teeth knocked out at school (permanent ones) & luckily I was home, close by & got him to the dentist within 30 minutes....they were able to save at least 1 of them. We found out recently, one didn't do so good but that worked out in the end because after consulting the orthodontist to keep the space open turns out it will be better to shift other teeth over & the bad tooth works since it has to come out anyway.

If I hadn't gotten him there so soon after the accident the chances of any tooth surviving would have not been nearly as good.

So parents should be within 10 minutes of their kids at all times. Got it!

Sorry, just don't think it's realistic. That's exactly what emergency numbers are for. Coaches (at ANY level) should have a sheet listing all players w/mom & dad's (or what ever designation) CELL phone & home numbers.

Again, I do get this for kids under 7 (that age it's generally like trying to "herd cats). Parents can help keep the kids on task. But kids that are 7yo+, it shouldn't be needed.

 

[m&m's mom]

I love it!
Soccer is used as a babysitting service a lot of the time. DH or I always go to every practice. Yes, I could be running errands but by being there I am seeing how my child acts (the kids whose parents are not there are the worst generally), I see what I need to be working on with my child at home and I show my child she is worth my time.

 

[Art 1]

Sounds like a good idea. We always stayed when they were that young.

 

[SingleFather]

They could not answer in the rec department. This is rec soccer, not select or academy. If there is a problem with unruly kids or consistently late parents to or from practice they should do what one squad does and forbid the girl from participating up to kicking off the team. One squad around here has a three strikes rule.

If they kid gets picked up late or arrives late, then they should have to sit out of the game. Everyone on the team including the coaches has a cell phone if there is an emergency and if someone is running late. However, this rule as it stands now is going to do more harm than good.

I am trying to remember any sports from my youth where there was even a parent besides the coaches at practice. Thankfully the gymnastics center does not have that rule yet. I know when I am there watching and my girl can see me, she is not paying attention and constantly looking for approval.

Bad rule bad rule bad rule that does far more harm than good.

 

[SingleFather]

Again, I do get this for kids under 7 (that age it's generally like trying to "herd cats). Parents can help keep the kids on task. But kids that are 7yo+, it shouldn't be needed.

When my girl first started I called it ants chasing a sugar cube.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

That would be the end of our participation in that soccer club. Getting parking near our practice field takes more than faith, trust, and pixie dust. It's a minor miracle when it happens. Frankly, I'm not standing out there for 90-120 minutes, especially in the rain. I'll go to Starbucks to grade or write. Then again, this rule wouldn't work for our team since 2 of the coaches get to practice 30 or so minutes late. Their kids are dropped off by nannies.

 

[cornflake]

Unless soccer practice is always after like, 6 or 7pm, I don't see how that's possible for most folks.

 

[thomas998]

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.

Bingo.... I wish I had put that rule into effect on our daughters last birthday party at the bouncy place... I was amazed at the number of parents that dropped the kids off right on time, but didn't bother to come back and get them until way after the party was over.... We had to wait for over an hour until one of those fine loving parents decided to come back for their kid.... I can only imagine if I was going to coach a team I wouldn't want to have to wait around for an extra hour every time there was a game just so a parent that decided to use it as cheap baby sitting decided to show up.

 

[Mkrop]

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.

Or instead of insulting children maybe you could realize that not everyone lives in neighborhoods where the practice field is accesible by bicycle or walking.

Soccer fields and football fields are no where near any homes, and our baseball league has fields scattered all over our town, big college like town.

I guess the people who can stay with their kids at practice are ones who only have one child, and have two parents who never work late or travel DH travels a lot for work or has late meetings or trade shows. I have to get two kids to two different places that are no where near each other, not happening and we carpool a lot around here.

And most of the coaches I know including DH would perfer the parents not stick around bc the kids focus better if they are not waving to mom or dad every 5 minutes or dad is not yelling "helpful" tips from the sidelines.