THE sound of kids having fun with their mates should be the only noise heard when junior football players take to the field on Saturday.
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Sporting venues around the state will fall silent as part of the joint initiative from NNSW Football and Football Mid North Coast.
Silent Saturday is a day earmarked for the community to lead the way and make a statement that any form of abuse at any sporting ground is unacceptable.
FMNC general manager Bruce Potter said the aim of the day was for people to keep quiet, let the kids play and the referees referee.
“We’ve got over 6000 players and the majority are kids or young people,” Potter said.
“It’s a good family environment. We’ve just got to make sure that continues. We want people wanting to come to the games and you do that by providing a good quality sport with a good environment.”
Skye Lacey is a junior football coach for Port United and has kids who play. She said that referees and children should not be faced with any form of abuse.
“The referees are volunteers and we can’t get enough of them, so we can’t afford to yell at them,” she said.
“At the end of the day it’s a kids sport and if they are getting yelled at, or witnessing that kind of behaviour, they don’t want to play.
“It’s all about the kids. They’re out there having fun so people on the sideline yelling shouldn’t stop that.”
Skye recalls a particularly sour moment during one of her matches as a coach, involving parents abusing others. She said the affect it had on the kids was not pleasant.
“My kids came off quite upset. It’s not in our nature to do that so they found it very confronting when they were yelled at,” she said.
“Unfortunately there are people out there who act that way at junior sporting games.
“For parents who act like clowns the message is to stay at home. We don’t want you a part of our atmosphere.”
Skye’s daughter, Jasmine, remembers a particular match where parents were yelling at the referee and their own players.
“It was scary when they were yelling and swearing,” she said.
“We like to play football because it’s fun and you get to play with your mates.”
Make sure you are a part of the solution, not the problem, by keeping silent on the sidelines and setting an example for our children.