Spring Break is officially over — if it even happened where you live — and the latter part of the spring sports season is back in full swing. It’s this time of year as spectators truly enjoy the warmer weather everywhere in the country when I’m reminded of my all-time favorite fan.

I’ll call him Wayne.

Wayne, who is a former athlete and coach, spends his spare time following his grandchildren’s youth sports teams. It really doesn’t matter where they play or what the sport, he seems to show up at just about everything.

For a recent flag football tournament, he drove two hours to watch his grandson play in one game.

Wayne arrived shortly before “kickoff” and set up his sports chair away from all of the other spectators, but with a perfect view of the gridiron. And then to my surprise, he pulled out a book. I thought to myself: Four hours round-trip and he’s going to read a book.

Wayne looked up whenever he “heard” the snap of the ball, and then after the whistle his eyes quickly peered back down into his book until the next play. The only sounds from his chair were a clap of his hands after a great play … or a “good try, get it next time” after a failed one.

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At halftime, his grandson wandered over to say hello. Most parents or grandparents would have some sort of strategic advice. Not Wayne. His only words were: “Son, I have a great book for you to read!”

I turned to another parent and said, “Wayne has it all figured out, doesn’t he?” The rest of us are stressing out over watching teenage boys play football and his only care in the world this day is making sure his grandson realizes there are more important things in life than catching a football.  

After the game on his way to the parking lot to head to another grandchild’s event, Wayne went out of his way to make sure every player on the team was congratulated for a great catch, nice pass, or wonderful run.

During the next game, I sat in the bleachers listening to the other parents barking at the referees and yelling advice to their own kids. I thought to myself: If all of us took a chapter out of Wayne’s book, wouldn’t the youth sports world be a better place.

Jon Buzby has been involved in and writing about youth sports for the past 30 years, originally as a coach and board member with his now-adult son and most recently "just as a dad" with his 8- and 10-year-old sons. Jon is an award-winning writer and his latest book, “Not an Expert, Just a Dad … In this Crazy Game Called Life,” is available on Amazon. Send comments or future blog topics you'd like to see to JonBuzby@hotmail.com and follow him @YouthSportsBuzz on Twitter.