Youth Soccer
"A Dollar Per Holler"

As word circulated that the Reedley Kings Canyon Youth Soccer League had planned a "Silent Saturday," it sounded like an intriguing concept. Still, some coaches and parents, me included, had reservations.

Picture a day of soccer games in which only the players could speak -- coaches and parents were permitted to clap after a goal -- and the penalty for adult outbursts was a buck donation in a bucket. A dollar a holler.

Some wondered what the matches would be like without the sounds of the game -- coaches barking instructions and parents yelling. The eye-opening result was that they were replaced by far more pleasant sounds -- children offering advice and encouragement to each other and doing some coaching of their own.

"It was kind of eerie [at first]," said David Lee, president of the Reedley-based league. "But you could actually hear the kids. You could hear the thumping of the ball being kicked."

The truth is those sounds have been silenced by the louder, more competitive adult voices shouting out what we perceive to be helpful and inspiring words. The players' thoughts on the "Silent Saturday" experience last weekend would indicate otherwise.

Isaiah Moreno, 13, said, "I think it was good because there was less pressure."

Charlotte Kintz, 13, said, "It was good because we didn't have to hear the parents."

Their teammate Rene Nunez, 12, said, "There wasn't as much screaming and [parents] bothering [us]."

Those adult sounds of the game were missing but not missed.

California Youth Soccer Association leagues in District 7, which is comprised of Fresno, Madera, Kings, Tulare and Inyo counties, have been encouraged to plan "Silent Saturdays," which various leagues in the region have done.

Linda SoRelle, District 7 commissioner and a CYSA board member, said, "This is an experiment. We want to see the positive feedback and the negative feedback and let's see where we go with this."

The unusual day of games in Reedley was billed as a fund-raiser and would "give the game back to the kids" -- two things that few would contest, but many wondered if they would actually happen. First, how would the "fines" be enforced? Second, the premise that the diminished role for adults allowing the 4- to 14-year-old players to control the games seemed a bit oversold. As a Little League baseball coach, I was skeptical. They need us, right?

After all, this generation of youths is accustomed to having us parents drive them to organized practices and games. Pickup games are nearly extinct.

Reedley's "Silent Saturday" proved two things, however:

-- Collecting fines by and large was not a problem. Parents complied voluntarily, even if reluctantly at times. One father blurted out his son's name, attracting gazes from his adult counterparts (ah, peer pressure). He headed toward the bucket, dollar in hand, laughing the entire time.

I asked a mother, as she was making a contribution, how the day was going. "I just put in five bucks," she said. "How do you think it's going?" She and her husband were $16 lighter after their 9-year-old son's game. (Contributions totaled $275 for the day.)

-- Yes, the players did take control of the game, coaching and encouraging one another, although they were not as talkative in the younger divisions. "The kids had to make decisions and stuff," said 10-year-old Matthew Torres. Some coaches did use players on the sidelines to relay messages onto the field.

Steve Penner said he hasn't seen major problems with overzealous coaches and parents in his 15 years of coaching in the Reedley program. Still, the one-time Saturday had value.

"I see this as preventative medicine," Penner said. "This reminds us to behave and that the game is about the kids." Nonetheless, he said adults were constrained. "We couldn't yell encouraging things either."

League board members acknowledged that feedback was mixed. One parent accused the league of promoting communism. Another parent said that if this was the direction the league was going she would not sign up her child in the future. Still others said that all parents should not be punished for the actions of a few.

"It takes the whole joy out of the sport," grandparent Horacio Aleman said. "There should be a [rule] that if you get out of hand, you're disqualified."

Polly Rotan said, "I'm not a big yeller but I'd like to cheer my son and his team." Tongue-in-cheek, she suggested "bouncers to get rid of the people who cause problems."

Bill Davis, a league board member, supported the "Silent Saturday." "Parents lose sight of what these activities are for," he said. "I have to admit that I've lost sight of that myself [in the past]."

As for the league's referees, most of whom are teen-agers, David Kennedy, 19, said, "It was awesome. I loved it. It keeps the parents quiet and gives money to the league. I had fewer problems."

Less pressure on the kids. Players coaching players. Fewer problems. So maybe this is the way to run youth leagues all the time.

I suspect an attempt to round up endorsements for that idea would meet with deafening silence from many coaches and parents.