NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Saturday was an unusual one for soccer parents, as they sat on the sidelines in silence.
The East Central Soccer District in Neenah adapted the “Silent Weekend” rule from South Carolina after it realized heckling referees has gone too far.
East Central Soccer referee assigner, Mike Jones, explains to FOX 11.
“The referee ages are between 12, 13, and 14 and when you get a parent screaming at them constantly, it just deters them from being a referee down the road.”
President of Neenah Soccer Club, Marti Coan says…
“Parents get carried away. The language they use, the intensity of their voices. We want everybody to have fun and be safe.”
Parents are only allowed to clap. If the rule is violated within the third warning, they can be kicked out.
Some parents shared how they plan to restrain themselves.
“I guess I’ll probably have to pace or walk away for a little bit,” Jonathan Dickey said.
Kay Bahm said, “I brought posters to hand out to people.”
Both parents and players believe there’s good intentions from the Silent Weekend, but many, like Bahm, disagree about the no cheering rule.
“I think it’s an encouragement hearing people cheer.”
Seven-year-old Isla Jones likes to hear the crowd.
“I just like how sometimes my parents cheer because sometimes it makes me have a better playing time.”
But nine-year-old Mea Jones said the quiet atmosphere helped improve her performance.
“We were a little more focused, we can hear our coaches more and it was just different a little bit”.
The East Central Soccer organization have a meeting today (Monday) to discuss if they want to continue this rule next spring.
