Adults must example good sportsmanship

As a referee and coach, I very rarely get to just watch a soccer game, I was able to a couple of weekends ago and it reminded me that one of the great things about Sandpoint is family.

I know that soccer is a huge part of Sandpoint because I’ve been involved in some way for the past six years. I also know that passion runs high for this sport from parents all the way down to kids just learning to play the game.

With that being said, I was caught completely off guard by a comment after the game directed at the referee by one of our esteemed city council members whose grandson played in the game. The comment was rather rude and accusatory at the way the Center Referee called the game. If other parents and players had heard the comment, I’m sure that more of the same would have followed due to the leadership position of this individual.

I feel that we as adults need to set the example for the kids playing this game. I know that at times the referee makes a call that I might not agree with and as a referee myself, I’ve made plenty of calls that aren’t agreed with either, and we need to show our kids how to behave when we both win or lose a game. Being a gracious loser and humble winner is something that in my opinion seems to be lacking in today’s society and I believe that the remedy to that starts at home.

DAVID SMITH

Sandpoint