Silent Sidelines Reminder - OCTOBER 15 and 16, 2022
Each Fall (3rd weekend of October) and Spring (3rd weekend of May) there is a statewide Silent Sidelines weekend.
- Coaches are permitted to give players direction from the sidelines.
- Spectators shall not make any comments to players, coaches or referees, but are permitted to applaud.
Referees are not responsible for the enforcement of this rule.
The goals of Silent Sidelines Weekend are to:
- Develop our players to make decisions on the field without sideline intervention;
- Improve the players' communication on the field by reducing the outside noise level; and
- Support our youth referees by eliminating dissension from the sidelines.
Again, the guidelines are simple.
- Spectators remain generally quiet, talking in a normal tone to the person next to them and shall not coach or otherwise instruct players or question calls from the referees.
- Avoid comments that can be heard by players, referees or opponents.
- Applause is permitted and encouraged.
This program was first sponsored by CJSA in September 2000 and had immediate success. Many players stated they enjoyed the opportunity to communicate with their teammates and be heard. It increased awareness and redirected focus by both coaches and parents on the players' overall long term development, rather than any short term wins or losses in a single game.
In addition, it helps improve referee retention. Many of our younger referees (14-16 years old) quit officiating because of the conflict and confrontation from parents, coaches, and players. Silent Sidelines allows our referees to focus on the game, instead of worrying about what he/she is hearing from spectators or coaches.
Your help is needed. We are asking everyone to promote and support Silent Sidelines Weekend and give the game back to the kids.