The ability of teams to go out onto a field and have fun playing a game can be dramatically affected by the behavior of sideline spectators. The game ‘atmosphere’ is determined directly by this, and is either positive, or corrosive. It should be remembered that the game exists for the children to have fun in their sport, and adults need to refrain from projecting their own thoughts of wanting their child to be a ‘super star’/future Olympian into how they react at the fields. Let the child be a child and play their game, in their manner. Do not attempt to dictate how they play, to please you, in the manner of a puppet master controlling a puppet.

As a soccer sideline spectator, what is your role at the soccer field?

• You are there to support your child in having fun in their sport
• You are there to support the overall effort of your team
• You are there to recognize the effort of your child in playing in an organized sport.

As a soccer sideline spectator, what are items that you need to avoid at the field?

• First, and foremost, you need to understand that negative actions from you at the field directly put unneeded pressure/onus on your coach. Under the rules of soccer, a coach is responsible for the actions of their spectators. A coach can be cautioned, or ejected from the game, due to actions of the spectators. A game could be stopped by the referee, to direct the coach to speak with a spectator. This causes the players to lose playing time, leaving them standing on the field until the coach comes back to the referee, after speaking with the parent. In this manner, it harms the players, as they are not having ‘fun’, just standing there.
• Let the coaches’ coach. If you are telling your son or daughter—or any other player for that matter—to do something different from what their coach is telling them, you create distraction and confusion.
• It is very unnerving for many young players to try and perform difficult tasks on the field on the spur of the moment when parents are yelling at them from the sidelines. Let the kids play. If they have been well coached, they should know what to do on the field. If they make a mistake, chances are they will learn from it.
• Do not discuss the play of specific young players in front of other parents. How many times do you hear comments such as, “I don’t know how that boy made this team….” or “she’s just not fast enough…”. Too many parents act as though their child is a ‘star’, and the problem is someone else’s kid. Negative comments and attitudes are hurtful and totally unnecessary and kill parent harmony, which is often essential to youth team success.
• Do your level best not to complain about your son or daughter’s coaches to other parents. Once that starts, it is like a disease that spreads. Before you know it, parents are talking constantly in a negative way behind a coach’s back. (As an aside, if you have what
  you truly feel is a legitimate beef with your child’s coach—either regarding game strategy or playing time, arrange an appointment to meet privately, away from a soccer field.)
• Make positive comments from the sideline. Be encouraging. Young athletes do not need to be reminded constantly about their perceived errors or mistakes. Their coaches will instruct them, either during the game or at half time, and during practices. You can often see a young player make that extra effort when they hear encouraging words from the sideline about their hustle.
• Avoid making any negative comments about players on the other team. This should be simple: we are talking about youngsters, not adults who are being paid to play professionally. I recall being at a rep baseball game some years ago, when parent on one team loudly made comments about errors made by a particular young player on the other team. People on the other side of the diamond were stunned— and angry. Besides being tasteless and classless, these kinds of comments can be hurtful to the young person involved and to their family as well
• Try to keep interaction with parents on the other team as healthy and positive as possible. Who’s kidding whom? You want your child’s team to win. They want to win too. However, that should not make us take leave of our senses, especially our common sense. Be courteous ‘till it hurts—avoid the ‘tit for tat’ syndrome.
• Parents on the “other” team are not the enemy. Neither are the boys or girls on the other team. We should work to check any negative feelings at the door before we hit the pitch.
• What is the easiest thing to do in the youth sports world? Criticize the referees. Oh, there are times when calls are missed, absolutely. And that can, unfortunately, directly affect the outcome of a contest. That said, by and large those who officiate at youth soccer games are hardly over-compensated, and give it an honest—and often quite competent— effort. At worst, they at least try to be fair and objective. Understand that the youth referee has had to take an online course, attend an on-field training session, and pay a fee to be licensed to referee games. It is only through experience that they gain the knowledge/experience to tie all elements together.
• On that note, outbursts from parents on the sideline made toward the referees only signal to our own children on the field that they can blame the refs for anything that goes wrong. Blaming others is not a formula for success in sports.
• Yelling out comments such as “Good call, ref” or “Thanks ref” may only serve to alienate an official. The ref always assumes they made the proper call, that’s why they made it. Trying to show superficial support because the call went “your” way is simply annoying to the officials, and to anyone within earshot.
• Walking up and down all game long along the sidelines, following the play, is unnerving to players and totally unnecessary—particularly so if you are trying to yell out instructions to various players, including your own son or daughter. It is likely embarrassing to the player/players involved and simply counterproductive. If you want to coach, obtain your coaching certification and then apply for a job. Understand that your sideline ‘coaching’ may be undermining the capability of your coach to direct the team during a game. There can only be ONE coach at the field.
• If you bring small children to the field, and you are sitting close to the field, watch your small children. They are free spirits, and their playful activities could place them on the field, or too near the touchline of the field. This could place them in danger of being run over by either a field player, or an assistant referee, who is running down the touch line, or hit by a kicked ball in their direction. Some parents are so busy watching the game, that they do not notice their small children putting themselves into danger.