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PARENT CONDUCT
The main goal of Hudson Soccer Association (HSA) in sponsoring this league is for your children to learn the game of soccer in a safe, fun, and educational environment. We need your support and cooperation to achieve this goal. We offer the following guidelines that we encourage you to read and take to heart:
Please make safety your first priority.
- Please supervise your children carefully. Do not let them wander unattended. Our coaches and volunteers are not baby-sitters.
- Please do not let your children climb or play on any soccer goals. Most of the goals we use are small portable goals that are made of plastic or metal. They can tip over easily or break if even a small child tries to climb on or hang from them, and this could result in serious injuries. Even the large metal goals can tip over easily.
- Please do not allow your children to climb on fences, backstops, or other equipment, or play on, around, or under the bleachers at the fields. Playing on these structures can be dangerous.
- Please do not bring pets to the games. Even pets get excited during games.
- Please keep your children (especially young children and infants), yourselves, and your belongings a safe distance from the playing field while watching games.
- Please encourage your children to stretch before games, and arrive early so they have an adequate opportunity to warm up.
- Please make sure that your children wear appropriate safety equipment. We encourage children to wear properly fitted mouth guards.
Please try to relieve the pressure of competition. Don't increase it by focusing on winning and individual performance. We instruct our coaches and referees not to keep score, and we do not keep standings or have championship tournaments.
Always encourage good sportsmanship, and set a good example for your children. The opposing players should shake hands after each game.
Support your child's coaches and team managers. They are volunteering their free time to help your children have a good experience.
Please do not openly question any calls of the referees. The referees are children and this is a learning experience for them too. Refereeing in front of a crowd of adults can be very intimidating.
We encourage positive cheering during games. Please do not make any negative or inflammatory comments about players, coaches, or referees.
A recent Plain Dealer article reported that most children stop playing organized sports by the age of 13. The reason was simple. Sports stopped being fun due largely to pressure from parents and coaches. This statistic is upsetting to us because soccer and other team sports give children the opportunity to learn about teamwork, to make new friends, and to develop the bonds that teammates often form. Soccer will give them the chance to develop their leadership skills and to learn to compete fairly and graciously. Playing soccer also will give them the chance to develop their physical and mental skills and self-confidence while having fun. We are confident that the guidelines set forth above will enable soccer to be a safe, fun, and meaningful experience for your children.
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