Respect, Its Not Too Much To Ask, Is It?

So, this week saw a different kind of sideline support. We went to the County Cup with the school. The first real tournament of the season for the newly formed team.

He set off early in an excited professional manner. Kit bag packed the night before, team meeting carried out on the way home the night before and a little bit of extra training with a few of the boys in the early evening.

We were to join the team on the paddock at 10.30.

Now being the professional supporter that I am I came armed with hot drink and extra hats and gloves smugly thinking how prepared I was for the day ahead. As I walked across the fields amidst an array of 30 odd different teams I realised I had made a fatal error. The sun was shining, and my glasses were 15 miles away at home.

As I walked over to our team, I heard the repetitive woes of players calling out the Sir or Referee as they were being called. I glanced at these young men (all sixth formers at the hosting school) who had gallantly stood up and accepted the challenge to referee a game of 20 under 12s battling for the title of County Cup Winners.

I started to think about when my eldest was younger and whether it was as widespread then as it appeared to be today. I am sure that when he was at this age the Sir was always the leading man and whether his call was correct or not, it was obeyed and not up for discussion.

I started to think about how we as parents, coaches and teachers could bring back this element of the game and teach our delightful charges some respect of the Sir?

Now, I am all for the captain asking for clarification from the referee and then relaying to his team the outcome of the questions asked but blatantly shouting is not something I wish to see from players, parents or coaches. I noticed a lot of this going on in my first venture out to school tournaments.  

Without touch judges or a TMO I wouldn’t expect them to catch every offside or high tackle, dangerous play or short try.

So how can we teach them to understand the ancient art of respect?

In a moment of sheer brilliance on my part, I came up with the idea of making these boys a Sir for a game, maybe a half each in training and let them see how difficult it is to be in control for the entirety of the game. That in turn should make them aware of just how much pressure there is these days for a Sir to be the best at what he does. The ever-increasing laws of the game, changing every season only make it harder for these poor chaps that only have themselves as back up not a full team.

If we as parents instil just a small portion of respect, then the children will learn by example. The Ref may well have been rubbish he may well have missed twelve knock on’s but he is not Nigel, just the same as little Robert is not Johnny. Well not yet anyway!

 

Back to the cup, the boys did fantastically and came second out of 32 schools! So today I am proud of my little Johnny, or Elliot as he would prefer to be known and I have put my sunglasses back in the glove box just in case there is one more sunny day in this rugby season!