I attended a basketball game yesterday and sat back in amazement at what I saw.

I was expecting to see two teams playing hard and exhibiting their skills in an attempt to win, but that was not the case.

The game was interrupted by coaches and fans yelling, players using foul language and just a barrage of chaos. Coaches and parents accusing referees of cheating, very little coaching or uplifting of players moral, just constant complaining.

I understand, as a coach, there are some instances where we do have to question a call but have we forgotten that we all are human.

As I sat there, I started to see the kids’ attitudes were spawned by the coaches attitude. It was no longer work harder, perform better to pull a win out, it became “well, it’s everyone else’s fault, we are going to lose.” No accountability for their performance.

When did we start to raise our children as victims? Can we not just say that the other team was better than us on that day, and strive harder, work harder, practice harder, instead of making excuses?

When did we start believing the only way our children can get beat at something is if someone cheats? Some of the best lessons I ever learned in life came from failure. It’s no wonder that our children can’t cope with things.

We raise them to believe that they are the center of the universe and when they go out into the real world they find out quickly, they are not.

So where does that leave us? Can we not just let our kids play or has this become apart of sports now?

And just a tidbit of information, if you are one of them parents who believe there is none better than yours, before you stand up and yell, cuss and make a fool of yourself, go somewhere away from here and watch kids play basketball.

Andy Long

Kitts Hill