4 Reasons Why Americans Get Carried Away Watching Youth Sports
When Parents and followers realize they are at fault they’ll think differently when they attend youth sports
As an Irish man, I could easily say that American sports followers are all crazy and they all get carried away with youth sports and this would not be a lie.
However, it would not be entirely the truth either.
Here in Ireland, many people get carried away with youth sport too. It’s not just America, or Ireland though where people get carried away when young people play sport, it is happening all around the world.
The Anxiety of Youth Sports:
I remember when I was about fifteen years of age I was being brought home from playing a game in my team manager’s car. There were a few other players who were on our team and they were all a couple of years older than me. I was fortunate enough to be playing a few age groups above my level at that age but on the car journey home I was naturally a bit quieter as we made our way from the game.
Still, I listened to the manager telling each lad about the time of the next training session when he dropped them off. Being the furthest from where the game was, I was the last one to be dropped off.
Although the manager had also told all the team immediately after the game about the time and date of the next training session, he felt it important to repeat it to me as he dropped me within a couple of hundred yards of my home. As I jumped out of the car and walked towards my house he shouted at me to remind me again about the training time:
“Seven o clock on Tuesday evening. Will you be there?”
he exclaimed.
I nodded in agreement but knew he wasn’t certain that I`d communicated it too well so I walked back towards the car and at the same moment my manager eased the car forward so that his voice would carry better through his barely opened window. The next thing I
knew was that the front tire of the car was on my foot. The whole weight of the car was crushing me.
My manager continued:
“It’s really important that you’re there. We can’t afford to lose another game. Today you played well, but we need everyone to be there so that we can prepare?”
I repeated my answer a couple of times:
“Ya, I`ll be there, I`ll be there!”
He sensed that although I was sure of my answer, there was something else the matter with me and said:
“Are you sure? Is there something the matter?’
and I let him out of his agony by instantly replying:
“Well, it’s just your car is on my foot!”
Before I knew it, he apologized and prodded the car forward and my foot was free again.
The thing was, at that time, my manager’s mind was still lost in our game. He had driven the whole way to all of the players’ houses, dropped them off, but still, he was not fully concentrating on what he was doing.
Being present as a coach or manager in sport is hugely important. Naturally, when you are coaching or managing elite level adult athletes this is a trait that will help you, but arguably, you need more of this when looking after youth athletes as you have a greater duty of care to the young sportsperson.
What types of people get carried away by youth sport?
But it’s not just coaches and managers who get anxious or carried away at youth sports games.
Parents, followers, and players themselves also get carried away.
Parents often shout at referees, umpires, coaches, and other players in disgust at the performance that they see before their eyes. Many parents haven’t played the game or haven’t competed in a particular sport for many years and their raised voices seem to overpower their ordinary everyday personality.
Supporters and followers can be the same. Let’s face it, if we are at a sports game on a Friday night we are there for fun. Our week has finished and we just want to enjoy ourselves.
For many of us being part of the crowd can be as entertaining as being on the field of play.
But, athletes and players can also feel this worry when they play on the field.
Why do people get carried away by youth sport?
Parents, followers, and players get carried away for several reasons:
Passion:
They can be passionate about their son or daughter or the sport that they play. They may have played the sport themselves and their memory of playing maybe overriding their actual present-day experience and they are trying to dampen out that memory with their energy at their child, siblings, neighbor’s, or friend’s game. Perhaps they never played well in their time of youth sports, or they lost the game.
Regret:
Either way, there may be lingering regrets, or the crowd, teams, and the whole occasion are subconsciously reminding them of their time playing youth sports.
Essentially their emotions are overtaking them and the rational part of their brain has been overridden. Yelling things that may seem uncharacteristic in their day to day job or lifestyle can suddenly become their alter ego when game time arrives.
Nervousness:
They may also be genuinely nervous. When we get nervous, our breathing can stray from its normal pattern and as the breath feeds the brain; our thoughts can then produce
erratic communication that we would not normally rationally think about using.
Anxiety:
Anxiety can grip a crowd very easily. Even if you are the calmest character in the stadium, the power and tension of a good game can test the feelings of those around you.
We are all connected and this overflow of emotion can create temporary anxiety in a person and make them react in a way that would not usually be the case.
Remember to develop a winner:
Whether it's parents, coaches, managers, friends, followers, or players of youth sports it’s important to know that playing at this age group comes and goes very quickly.
Youth sport is just a snapshot of time.
As young bodies are growing the athlete is not yet the complete player.
Like the yeller in the stand who is not coming from a completely rational mindset, in time and with proper development, both the crazy guy in the crowd and the player on the field will realize the best team wins when they take control.
Get FREE Access To Dr. Conor’s VIP List Here (Limited Time Only)
