Parent Violence in Sports

Causes of Parent Violence in Athletics In towns across the nation youth sports is being changed by one thing, violent parents. Society today is experiencing a new phenomena in which parents of children participating in organized sport lash out at other parents, coaches and even players in youth age groups. This all can be traced to three factors; the emotional attachment of parents to their child, the financial investment throughout sports, and simply the lack of knowledge a parent has for the game and its norms. Youth sports today is becoming more violent due to the emotional attachment parents have to their kids and their relationship with them to sports. Parents in youth sports tend to identify themselves as a team member. Parents act as though the action in the game is an action to themselves instead of the children playing the game. Through driving to practices, watching games and giving feedback to their children, parents feel as though they are apart of the team and contribute to their success Parents tend to view their children as a substitute for their own previous athletic lives. Some parents had dreams to become a college athlete or even professional and didn’t make it they live through their children and their sport. They try and change where things went wrong in their careers in athletics and just make their failure a reality through their child. In some instances parents actually view themselves where they left off when their child gets put into a sport. Studies show that as more people are drawn to the event, like in a championship, more emotion seems to come from the parents. The tension that is already carried by the parents because of their emotional connection to their children is only highlighted in the final stand for a victory. Games then become more about winning and being proud that your team won than the actual sport and the reason they are playing. Emotional attachment between parents and their athlete is a huge contributing factor to