A kids' game

Mere days after the conclusion of a youth sporting event in Harford County worthy of the international attention it receives because it showcases the best of children's athletics, another youth sporting event in Harford County has cast light on the worst aspects of youth sports.

Actually, it's unfair in a way to associate youth athletics with the disgrace that is the Bel Air Terps 12U Red football program because the young players weren't the problem.

Even as the sponsoring Bel Air Recreation Council shut the team down for the season before a regular season game was played, one parent pointed out: "The boys did nothing wrong."

There's a saying that boys will be boys that's sometimes used to justify untoward behavior on the part of young men, but there is no counterpart saying for parents, and parents were the problem in this instance.

At a recent scrimmage in Elkridge, parents on the sidelines associated with the team got into physical altercations. Then at a meeting three days later, those who were fighting, weren't even there when other parents were behaving badly, leaving league officials no choice but to end the team's season before it began. Had it been boys on the team pushing and shoving among themselves, it might have warranted nothing more than a reprimand issued by adult leaders of the team.

Had it involved unsporting conduct directed at an opposing team by a youth player, possibly a more severe adult intervention would have been appropriate.

But because it involves just this sort of behavior — behavior of a kind that would be insulting to children to describe as childish — on the part of adults, there's little that can be done beyond the severe action of shutting the team down.

It is unfortunate in the extreme that the people being punished are the kids who were looking forward to a season of rough and tumble fun on the field. But given the inexcusable behavior of a few adults associated with the team in the span of a few days, the boys are better off in the long run.

After all, how can a boy on a football team expect to take seriously the reprimand of an adult for unseemly behavior when that child knows adults associated with the team are behaving the same way or worse?

Leaving kids in a program that is supposed to be controlled by parents, some of whom are themselves out of control, would be much worse.

As it develops, provision is being made to allow members of the team to transfer to other rec football programs. It's hardly ideal, but it will provide a reasonable opportunity for those who want to play.

One of the many damnable aspects of the situation is that it is an example of one of the most egregious aspects of youth sports: otherwise normal parents who turn into rabid animals at their kids' sporting events.

It's a stereotype that's laughable in movies and on TV, but that stereotype is based in reality, and the reality is ugly. Fortunately, most parents don't fall into this category, and there's every reason to believe most parents associated with the Bel Air Terps U12 Red team want nothing to do with the unsavory behavior that resulted in the un-doing of the team.

In cases like this, however, all it takes is the bad actions of a few to spoil it for everyone. Youth athletics should be about having fun, playing and watching. If you can't control yourself when kids are playing a game, you should just stay home.