Players crowding around the referee, managers seething at the touchline, fans yelling abuse there are times when Scottish football is a spectacle for all the wrong reasons.
But it is not just in the professional game where standards of conduct have slipped, as anyone who has passed by a park hosting a weekend children’s match and heard parents turning the air blue can attest.
On Monday, an effort began in Dundee to dispel the negativity that too often afflicts football and other sports.
Parents of young players linked with Dundee FC attended a Positive Coaching Scotland (PCS) workshop at St Paul’s Academy to lean how their actions impact on their child’s behaviour on and off the field.
Programme manager Grant Small said: ”This is an attempt to change the culture of sport. We know there are a lot of negative influences, such as parents standing on the sidelines shouting at the kids.”
The aim of PCS is to get across the message that there is a right way and wrong way to approach sports, for players, parents and coaches.
”In football, and across various sports, we are already starting to see signs of a more supportive, stimulating environment, one that motivates participants to really recognise the value of effort,” said Grant.
”It’s this positive set-up in Dundee and across the country that will encourage young players to shoot, rather than feel shot down for making mistakes.
”Through teachers, students, and volunteers, the principles of Positive Coaching Scotland will now steadily be embedded in 43 local community sports clubs across Dundee. This will include engaging participants in football, rugby, tennis, boxing, and golf,” Grant said.
Dundee FC manager Barry Smith was in no doubt about football’s responsibility to its next generation of players.
He said: ”The development of young footballers often gets overlooked by the overwhelming need to win. We recognise that Dundee FC have an enormous responsibility to develop our talented young players and fully support the messages of PCS.”
Sports minister and Dundee City East MSP Shona Robison also gave her backing to the programme.
She said: ”Whether it’s encouraging participants to uphold the values of respect, responsibility and tolerance on the football field, or working with coaches, parents, and teachers to instil the values of effort and a positive attitude in our youth, the work of PCS can help our children and young people in Dundee and across Scotland’s communities embrace physical activity and to enjoy a sense of improved health and wellbeing.”
Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, said: ”PCS workshops like this one in Dundee are helping to improve the quality of coaching through systematic training and development, whilst simultaneously educating Scotland’s young people about winning, losing, and co-operating and encouraging them to develop new skills.”