This past week at my boys’ flag football games I heard five things that made me smile while sitting on the sideline for one game, and coaching in another.

1.    “Dad, can you buy me a chicken sandwich?”

My 8-year-old shouted this out to me from his defensive position, concerned the concession stand might sell out before his game was over. This tells me two things. First, that he knows I don’t take his games overly serious, and secondly, he doesn’t either. 

2.   “What a classy move by that coach.”

I heard this from one of our parents on the team I help coach when we decided to take a knee with a two-score lead with less than a minute to play, and not one of our players or parents voiced any displeasure. This tells me that our stress of sportsmanship is not only reaching the players playing between the sidelines but those standing along them watching, too.

3.  “I’m glad the ref is calling it close.” 

I heard this from a parent when the referee threw a penalty flag because our team’s quarterback stepped over the line of scrimmage before throwing a touchdown pass, that was then called back. The statement was from the parent whose son caught the pass. This tells me that many parents understand that the only way kids can learn the rules is to have them consistently enforced.

4.  “Kids have to learn they aren’t always going to be successful.”

This quote was from a parent whose son dropped a potential first-down pass. He looked over at his mom, shrugged his shoulders, and his father yelled at him: “You’ll catch it next time.” This tells me that many parents do understand their kids are trying their hardest. I just hope the other parents were listening.

5.  “Did we win?”

I literally laughed out loud when this little boy asked his mom the question as he and his teammates celebrated what was, unbeknownst to him, a 12-0 win. This tells me that he’s paying attention to having fun, then which team is winning or losing. I’m not sure I’ll hear another thing this season that will put a bigger smile on my face.
 

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, “Coaching Kids Made Easier,” 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.