Games
49-50, 2016-17
I coach a boys U14 team and the other week
I bollocked them for not shaking the referee's hand at the end of a narrow
defeat, and for not congratulating their opponents. "I was ashamed to be
your coach today," I lectured. "It's easy to be a good sport when
you've won. Not so easy when you've lost."
The next game they lost 1-0, and they were
just as pissed off as they'd been the previous week, but most of them remembered
to behave about it in a half-way sporting manner.
 |
| Lost the game? Bite your lip and shake it anyway. |
Generally, a youth team's attitude is a
reflection of the way they're coached. On
Sunday I was warned by my refereeing colleagues about the "particularly
difficult" home team coach ahead of a boys' U17 game. Well, it couldn't be
any worse than anything else I've seen this season.
Let's first rewind quickly to the night before: game 49, boys U19, featuring a visit to the same club whose U17 coach freaked out at me last weekend. This gentleman's team was just finishing their game as I arrived,
and he decided to invite himself into my changing room to talk about last Saturday's red card against one of his players for fighting.
