2008 Woodie Awards
Coaches behaving badly
Those who influence youth should serve as role models
Matthew Conyers
Issue date: 12/4/06 Section: Soap Box
Growing up, I was a simple kid. Easy to describe and even easier to understand.
Want to know the real 10-year-old Matt Conyers? That's not hard. As far as I was concerned, there were two quintessential facts that surrounded my pre-pubescent existence.
No. 1 - I loved sports. It didn't matter what the sport was - I played it. Hockey, baseball, tennis, golf, frolf. You name it, I played it.
No. 2 - I wasn't really that good at any of them. Yeah, I tried my darnedest, but in regard to talent I was more Jakob Dylan, less Bob.
Nonetheless, I loved the sports and the sports attempted to love me back. Every now and then though, my youthful innocence was shattered. Whether it was a bone-crushing hit or misplayed shot, these moments allowed me to realize I wasn't the next superstar, rather just one of a million kids pretending to be Bo Jackson. Still, the images were usually meaningless and most of the time took place on the playing field. In most cases, they were short-lived. No sooner than I had embarrassed my team and myself, I would be back up dusting the grass or ice from my legs and preparing to take another swing at the game.
In many ways, these should've been the only embarrassing memories I took with me when I left the peewee playing fields. However, they weren't. Not even close. Instead, that dubious honor features an irate hockey parent and his ability to nearly climb over the boards from the stands and get onto the ice. Thankfully, that parent, who surprisingly fathered one of my teammates, didn't make it all the way over. Stuck atop the boards, he did, however, manage to make a complete and utter fool out of himself. Screaming obscenities, the parent berated the ref and the opposing team. It was the type of scene you read about in USA Today or see on MSNBC in between channel surfing. You know those stories of parents gone loony? Yeah, this was one of those. Made worse only by the mere fact that I was watching from the bench, not the sofa.
Want to know the real 10-year-old Matt Conyers? That's not hard. As far as I was concerned, there were two quintessential facts that surrounded my pre-pubescent existence.
No. 1 - I loved sports. It didn't matter what the sport was - I played it. Hockey, baseball, tennis, golf, frolf. You name it, I played it.
No. 2 - I wasn't really that good at any of them. Yeah, I tried my darnedest, but in regard to talent I was more Jakob Dylan, less Bob.
Nonetheless, I loved the sports and the sports attempted to love me back. Every now and then though, my youthful innocence was shattered. Whether it was a bone-crushing hit or misplayed shot, these moments allowed me to realize I wasn't the next superstar, rather just one of a million kids pretending to be Bo Jackson. Still, the images were usually meaningless and most of the time took place on the playing field. In most cases, they were short-lived. No sooner than I had embarrassed my team and myself, I would be back up dusting the grass or ice from my legs and preparing to take another swing at the game.
In many ways, these should've been the only embarrassing memories I took with me when I left the peewee playing fields. However, they weren't. Not even close. Instead, that dubious honor features an irate hockey parent and his ability to nearly climb over the boards from the stands and get onto the ice. Thankfully, that parent, who surprisingly fathered one of my teammates, didn't make it all the way over. Stuck atop the boards, he did, however, manage to make a complete and utter fool out of himself. Screaming obscenities, the parent berated the ref and the opposing team. It was the type of scene you read about in USA Today or see on MSNBC in between channel surfing. You know those stories of parents gone loony? Yeah, this was one of those. Made worse only by the mere fact that I was watching from the bench, not the sofa.
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