A few guidelines to enhance the fall sports experience

As summer wanes – gosh, I hate to say that – the fall sports season is upon us.

Once again, my dear mother’s adage held true: After July 4th, the summer really seems to fly.

And so it has.

Today’s thoughts turn to some of the things we all can do to make the fall high school sports season more enjoyable for all participants.

One pet peeve of this old coach is how the athletes are treated by the fans. It has been my contention for a number of years that if every fan entering the arena treated opposing players and their own school’s players as if they were one of their own kids, there would be fewer episodes of verbal abuse from the so-called peanut gallery.

Consider this: More schools are hard at it, preaching good manners and sportsmanship to players and parents than ever before.

The brief time I spent at Brewer High School as a freshman basketball coach in Mark Savage’s noted hoop program found me totally impressed with the required preseason meeting for all players and their parents or guardians.

Principal Jerry Goss and athletic director Dennis Kiah spoke briefly about how BHS school officials expected all those involved in the sports to conduct themselves at all practices and games.

“You represent more than yourself,” Kiah told the group. While Goss chimed in with the “aura of respect you receive for participating,” and, make no mistake about it, these two guys, as former athletes and coaches, meant every word they said.

Those types of meetings are cropping up in more places. Paul Soucy, a former Brewer High girls hoop coach of some renown, is hanging his hat these days as an athletic administrator at Hermon High. Paul learned well at Brewer, and now he and his cronies require the same type of seasonal meetings at Hermon.

Preaching good behavior and sportsmanship is only part of the job, however. A lot of the pressure to make the whole athletic experience worthwhile for all those involved falls on the coach’s shoulders.

In this day and age, especially, coaches need to set the sideline standard for proper behavior from the outset of each season. Television takes the blame from this corner for a lot of what transpires negatively during games.

In a college and pro sports world seemingly gone haywire sometimes with on-the-field and off-the-field foolishness, it is the coach who can set the best example for right thinking and solid decorum as he or she patrols the sidelines and lives his or her life.

People always asked me how I could sit quietly and coach in such a heated environment as a packed high school gym. My answer was a simple, but profound one: “If the kids see me reacting and acting out, then they will, too.”

Good behavior begins in practice. Coaches need to practice with their players how to react to everything from a questionable call from an official to a boisterous crowd on the road. Keeping an even keel at all times – never too high or too low – is vital to decorum success. Trust me on this, folks. It worked wonders for me and my teams.

This is a glorious time of the year here in Maine.

The weather is getting crisper. The leaves will soon be turning. Kids are hustling to and fro to practice and games.

A few simple guidelines for all those involved with fall sports at the high school level will enhance the enjoyment for all participants.

30-Second Time Out

I dug out my copy of the late David Halberstam’s book “The Summer of ’49” the other night as the Red Sox prepared for an upcoming trip to New York for a series with the Yankees, which begins tonight. That book, probably more than any other, captures the spirit of the rivalry better than anything I’ve ever read. Joe DiMaggio vs. Ted Williams was a storied rivalry that still lives in our minds because of Halberstam’s work.

BDN columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net