St. Paul Municipal Athletics League sends parents ‘sportsmanship letters’
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Its become far too common at those sporting events that are intended to teach sportsmanship where it is seen the least.
Youth sports, all over the metro.
This week the staff at St. Paul Municipal Athletics had to send a letter home to parents of kids in the basketball league reminding them about sportsmanship.
We are trying to be proactive right now to ensure the remainder of the season goes smoothly, spokesperson Jody Griffin said Thursday night.
In the letter parents were told: As adults we are all role models when we are in the presence of our youth...
The letter was sent because in the last few weeks there have been too many instances of poor sportsmanship shown at kids games by parents and coaches.
Being loud, not agreeing with officials calls, things like that, Griffin said.
Thankfully, nothing major has happened in St. Paul but that is exactly what the Municipal Athletics staff doesnt want to see this come to.
At Thursday nights practice for the 12-years-old and under teams one didnt see that kind of aggression from the players and the handful of parents watching were doing it the right way, quietly with the exception of a chuckle at their kids athletic prowess.
Nobody means any harm and its something you have to watch. Everybody is interested in their kid and wants the best for their kid, former coach Victor Mister said.
There is no foul in wanting what is best for the kids but in these gyms what is best for the kids is to learn to compete with respect and learn the game because its fun.
St. Paul sent the letter to parents to remind them that they are the teachers out here and teaching kids to argue over missed shots or missed calls is just a missed opportunity on the whole point of why they play.
We are all here for one reason. To create this positive experience for the kids because this is lifelong skills and lessons that they can learn from athletics, Griffin said.
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