Rebecca Baker: Time these ugly bozos celebrated mum and dad coaches

WHEN the man on the sidelines started hurling abuse at the Under-9s coach during a junior end-of-season lightning carnival, all I could do was shake my head.

Getting involved with organising or coaching kids’ sport is surprisingly rewarding. Picture: Nathan Dyer

WHEN the man on the sidelines started hurling abuse at the Under-9s coach during a junior end-of-season lightning carnival, all I could do was shake my head in disbelief.

There’d been a bit of argy-bargy between a couple of young players on field and the pot-bellied spectator was mad — seriously, saliva-spitting mad, letting loose an ugly diatribe.

His over-the-top vent was aimed at Scott Camporeale, the man who stepped up as Adelaide Crows’ senior coach after Phil Walsh died.

The Crows had played, and won, the night before, but on this sunny Sunday morning Camporeale was simply a dad, coaching his son’s footy side.

I have to say Camporeale seemed unperturbed by the abuse. Water off a duck’s back, I guess. He probably doesn’t even remember it. But it has stuck with me, months later — and I’m not a Crows’ fan, nor do my kids play at the club Camporeale was coaching on the day.

What concerned me was the fact this oversized bozo on the sidelines thought it was okay to let fly at a dad giving up his time to help young footballers, making those around him feel uncomfortable in the process.

Frustratingly, too often it is these armchair critics who whinge the loudest and complain the most.

How often have you been at a school or sports event and heard bitching about the way it has been run — and yet the very people complaining are the ones who haven’t put up their hands to help out?

Two days on from Australia Day, let’s celebrate the passionate mums, dads, siblings, grandparents and others who volunteer to take on coaching and support roles at sports clubs and at schools, giving our kids the opportunity to learn new skills and be part of a team.

Hopefully changes announced early this week that mean parents will no longer have to pass screening checks to volunteer in their own children’s schools will make it less daunting for mums and dads to put up their hands to help.

As a fulltime working mum, I don’t help out at my children’s school nearly as much as I’d like to — or ought to. So when I was asked last year to act as coach/manager for my primary-aged boys’ cricket team, I very hesitantly agreed, not because I didn’t want to be involved but because the task filled me — one of the world’s least sporty people — with utter, vomit-inducing dread.

It’s true my lack of sporting prowess and knowledge of the game didn’t make me an ideal candidate for the job, and I found myself getting some early post-match advice from my 10-year-old in reference to my exuberant but apparently untimely cheers from the sidelines: “Sometimes, Mum, it’s just best to NOT say anything.”

But thanks to great kids and supportive parents who helped set up, score and umpire each weekend, we bumbled through the season with lots of laughs and plenty of reasons to celebrate.

And while I can confidently say I didn’t find my forte on the cricket ground, the experience was a surprising highlight of 2015, inspiring a heightened appreciation of the many skilled and talented coaches who’ve worked with my boys in the past — and who will again in the future.

A genuine, well-credentialed coach who spent years as a player/coach in country Victoria before taking on the local Under-16s footy side, agrees that working with young people is rewarding.

“The biggest thing about coaching kids is that you can see how they’ve developed from the start of the season to the end and it’s nice to be a part of that,” he said.

“Being a coach is a big commitment, but you do get a lot of enjoyment out of it — it allows you the ability to stay involved in a sport you love and to meet new people.”

Sport SA CEO Jan Sutherland says there is no shortage of support for those keen to become a coach, in the form of coaching and development courses across most sports — where, she says, the skills learned will transfer into other areas of life, such as the workplace.

But coaching is not the only way to get involved.

“Think broadly about what you do well — the skills you can offer and how you can help,” she says.

“It may be marking out fields, doing the garden, working in the canteen or helping with finances.

“And you don’t even have to physically be at the club to help out — for example, you might help update the club’s website or do the newsletter.”

So, as the kids prepare to head back to school ready to sign up for a new season of sport, think about how you can help. It’s sure to be far more rewarding than complaining from the sidelines.