I have been disturbed recently by the smack talk and racist slurs in Youth Soccer. My son plays Class One U15, and he and several of his friends have been subjected to smack talk and racism during games from players on the opposing teams. I am not saying his team are all angels - for all I know, they may be as bad as their opponents. However, I find this activity very upsetting regardless of who is saying what. I know it is very hard for refs to do anything about it unless they actually hear what is being said. I believe it is up to coaches and parents, and ultimately the kids to stamp it out. What can we do? Any views on this? Thanks
I never enjoyed smack talk and I certainly cannot condone racism yet sadly both run rampant. I have tried to teach my kids to let their game speak for itself and not listen to the chatter of others. Most are just trying to get an advantage by getting under their skin. Until parents teach their children otherwise both will be prevalent when I pass.
It will always be a competetive edge to those who use this type of tactic on the field (all is fair in love and war). However coming from the sideline is a differnt story. Parent monitors should be designated @ every game and those designated parents one from each team should meet before and after a contest to agree and or disagree on the behavior/conduct of the participants and spectators. reports should be filed with the state association and/or league the game is sanctioned by. this way it will be documented regularly to see if patterns develop with certain teams or clubs.
While I agree that this is a great suggested approach, we can't even find parents willing to work in the concession stand let alone police the sidelines and produce a report to the State Association. The State Associations cannot afford another expense, where do these people come from? What would the punishment of infractions in the report be? Suspended from the next game, kicked off a team, team forced to forfiet a game? Then, how do you prove who said what and what constitues a comment that brings infractions? Too many variables....the referees are supposed to monitor what is said. There are already punishments set in place, referees need to be a bit more in tune with what is happening on the fields. If it is parents, that is a whole different story. I would say that if parents would police thier own....things could get a lot better? Simple fact is that this happens in EVERY SPORT, on EVERY FIELD OF COMPETITION, and IS NOT SOCCER SPECIFIC. Not saying it is right, but it has been happening from the beginning of time and will continue. As was suggested above, until the fabric of our (world-wide) culture is changed it will continue.
Isn't that the truth? Its always the same people doing the work and the ones who make the most complaints never lift a finger.......But the fact is the kids learn it form their parents which is one reason I cringe when I see both sets of them on the same side of the pitch........
Not if we adopt Mexico's culture. My son says he'll never complain again about rude opponents after playing 3 Mexican teams this past week. Cursing, spitting, cheap shots off the ball, nonstop shorts tugging, the whole shebang. Nor if we adopt Poland's culture -- whenever our guys play an ethnic Polish team, the black kids on his team get "N"ed throughout the game. Actually, I thinking that overall, the U.S. culture is probably pretty good when it comes this type of stuff.
john u cant say that!!! you are categorizing all latin teams john as dirty..when i for one have seen more racist white teams than anyother...matter of fact i have never seen a racist act commited by any other type of player than white..but i will not categorize white teams and say they are racist thats idiotic... ..look at a coach..his attitude usually reflects the squads...the same for the clubs pres..or doc..
Re: john u cant say that!!! Sadly, it happens across the board. I asked my son for some info about a recent tournament in S. Cal. He said they faced abuse from teams from S. Cal and N. East - including parents.
Re: john u cant say that!!! No, I am saying my son played 3 teams from Mexico and they were dirty. Not Mexican-American teams, teams from Mexico. Youth professional players, fighting to keep drawing a salary. A nasty piece of work they are, if you think you know dirty playing against American amateurs of any color or ethnic background, you don't. Same thing happened to a boy I know who toured Argentina for ODP. In 7 years of youth soccer, in both suburban and Hispano leagues, he never ran into teams that were as dirty as the Argentinian young pros.
I play competitive U15 and yeah there is smack talk/racism whatever but it's not always that prevalent. Those bothered by it are pretty weak minded imo...I'm not condoning it..it's just that it's impossible to stop. Stamping on feet, elbowing, and other dirty tactics are what piss me off.
Re: john u cant say that!!! Sorry that happened to your son. It's not a usual thing in socal. Both of my sons have played with black, hispanic, asian and foreign teammates, and they've never witnessed any racial problems over the years. Now, in the heat of battle have they heard comments about their mother and her alleged promiscuity? Sure, but that's testosterone induced smack, not racial smack.
My (white) son has been the recipient two recent racial taunts - 1) Got called a "white motherf&$ker" by a Polish kid 2) Got called a "motherf$#ker ni@ger" by an African kid I think those boys were confused.
Charlie, has your dd ever noticed it? With mine, its not really a color thing, she is just a b*&$h, that is the best you will hear with girls. Oh yea, Iv heard a team calling another girl a bikerbitch. Once in a while she will hear the F-bomb B word, but that is about it.
JOHN....The black kid calling a white kid a "nig*a" is not a racial slur...a "nig*er" is....white kids can be called the latter as well john(dont fool yourself)..also saying the first..is not racial but rather a term used to describe a person..like "dude"..or "man"... the polish thing i dont know about..lol Region..my dd has never been on the end of a racial slurr in her life... During games she says some teams "woof"..but i like a team that shows some passion for the game and expresses it vocally..my dd's all hispanic team has been said to "talk crap"..or "woof"..but nothing that i didnt chalk up to competitivness..and a "atta girl" when she got to the sideline.
I think we as a club team are relatively silent on the field. I think that's pretty general among the clubs we play. HS, is another issue. Players get yellow cards for swearing. Unfortunately it's usually in retaliation for a well placed elbow. Intrestingly, the players we see in HS are the same players we see in club. I think there's more at stake in a HS game - bragging rights. I haven't spoken to the girls on the club team, which is pretty racially and ethnically mixed, but I haven't heard any discussion about racial slurs.
Seriously, anywhere outside the US, smack talk is part of football(as it is in Basketball in America.) Maybe the pros(MLSers) can't handle it when they go abroad because they're brought up to believe from childhood that this is a family-friendly sport?
Re: john u cant say that!!! Where did John say the latin teams were racist? He said the teams his son played the past weekend played dirty. That has nothing to do with racism. For fact, the worst team I have ever seen my son play was a predominently white team from a pretty prestigious club. They did have a black player or two so now am I a racist for calling them a dirty playing team? They were without a doubt coached that way and the coach was white....
Re: john u cant say that!!! Once again, it's not "latin teams." The comments referred to teams from Mexico. He is fine with playing against Mexican-American teams, his complaint was with Mexican-Mexican teams.
I don't think the smack talk ever bothered my boys in their years of playing, but I was amazed the stories they would tell me about what goes on in the box during set plays such as corners, etc. The pushing, grabbing, and unfortunately rubbing. All to distract the player. The first time it happened, my older son was a little freaked and couldn't stop talking about it in the car for over 20 min. LOL
I can tell you that throughout Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Kansas.....my daughter seem to be known as that "tall b*tch". She just smiles, says "thank you" and plays on. Much different than racially motivated talk though, in some ways? It is all just meant to get into your head in my best estimation?
Yes, and I guess some players believe that anything goes out there to win the game. I'm sure it even happens in college and the pros, and that's probably when we see the fights. I've heard it happens in older girls' games also.