Youth Club Strikes Against Parents

It’s not just in the US that parents scream and yell, attack coaches and officials, and generally just embarrass the hell out of their kids (in addition to, you know, breaking laws) at youth sporting events. It happens in Italy, too, and one club has finally had enough. No, they’re not making rules about silence on the sidelines, or initiating cheering-only leagues. Instead, they went on strike.

The kids at Unione Sportiva Ponte a Elsa were apparently so scarred by the behavior of parents at their matches that they asked for something to be done, and the best solution, it was decided, was a strike. During the club Christmas party last week, the strike was announced, and members of the three teams that refused to play — the club’s eight, nine, and ten-year-olds — appeared before their parents holding banners that said things like “No to bad language, Yes to kids having fun,” and “Parents: don’t argue, let us play.” Ouch. (God, imagine the guilt — I bet there were some very quiet car rides home that night. And, probably, a whole lot of ice cream.)

Ponte a Elsa got permission and support from the local branch of Italy’s national football federation for the strike, as well as support from about 50 local businesses, so the parents ought to be well and truly chastened for their behavior — there’s nothing like the combined power of guilt and public shame to get people to shut up, at least for a little while.

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Category: Europe, World Football