Why Do Adults Always Try to Ruin Youth Sports?

[Muda69]

Recent case in point: https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/watch-brawl-breaks-out-during-youth-football-game-at-grand-park/

Quote

WESTFIELD, Ind. — Police are investigating after a large fight broke out over the weekend during a youth football game at Grand Park. Video of the brawl is now being spread on social media.

FOX59/CBS4 viewer submission

Officers were reportedly called around 3:30 p.m. Sunday to Grand Park for a fight in progress. Dispatch was told several people were involved “in what became separate fights.”

Westfield police said that the fights broke up once officers arrived. Medics were reportedly called to the scene for an adult male who was treated and released.

Videos of the incident show around 10 people throwing punches and kicks, while others tackle people and try to intervene.

ootage of the brawl, shown below, has since been viewed thousands of times on social media. Warning: the video contains explicit language, including several curse words.

 

Play Video

Video shows fight during youth football game at Grand Park

 

 

An anonymous eyewitness told FOX59/CBS4 that the brawl took place during a 7v7 football tournament being held at Grand Park. The brawl reportedly started with an argument between the coaches of two 14 and 15U teams, but officials did not specify.

While no arrests have been made, Westfield police said it is an open investigation and that detectives are reviewing video to identify anyone involved. No other information was provided.

 

[Titan32]

$$$

[Sparty]

Does the word moron work here?

[psaboy]

It's just really hard for people to do good things.

[Sparty]

38 minutes ago, psaboy said:

It's just really hard for people to do good things.

No it’s not.  Maybe some people.  

[Indiana Fan]

7 on 7 coaches and some trainers are putting a bad name and takin away from the traditional high school teachers / coaches. They are fooling parents. 
 

This incident is an absolute disgrace to youth sports and the game of high school football. These “coaches” need to be punished.

[Sparty]

1 hour ago, Indiana Fan said:

7 on 7 coaches and some trainers are putting a bad name and takin away from the traditional high school teachers / coaches. They are fooling parents. 
 

This incident is an absolute disgrace to youth sports and the game of high school football. These “coaches” need to be punished.

AAU/travel ball has now entered the football ranks.  

[oldtimeqb]

1 hour ago, Sparty said:

AAU/travel ball has now entered the football ranks.  

That's my big take away.  Five years ago I would argue that football was the last "pure" sport.  Travel teams have destroyed Little League baseball and AAU basketball has killed fundamentals and skill development.  At least football didn't have that. 

Can't say that anymore with these Pylon travel tournaments and 7v7 leagues that feature non-educator coaches.  I can't stand it. 

[Muda69]

2 hours ago, oldtimeqb said:

That's my big take away.  Five years ago I would argue that football was the last "pure" sport.  Travel teams have destroyed Little League baseball and AAU basketball has killed fundamentals and skill development.  At least football didn't have that. 

Can't say that anymore with these Pylon travel tournaments and 7v7 leagues that feature non-educator coaches.  I can't stand it. 

? So you are saying that only coaches with a teaching degree are competent at teaching fundamentals and skills development?

 

[Indiana Fan]

34 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

? So you are saying that only coaches with a teaching degree are competent at teaching fundamentals and skills development?

 

I believe what he is saying is that it is making the coaching profession look bad. High school coaches that are teachers are involved in school and around kids day in and day out. They are trained to handle kids properly and are on the same schedules. “Coaches” outside of this parameter are not around kids year long. 

Also, parents think that if they are sending kids to personal trainers and position like coaches that they know more than their own high school coaches. Well high school coaches aren’t usually going to be giving personal lessons. They have multiple kids to coach. They have to teach in the class room. They aren’t accepting extra payments because they are trying to get their own team better.

[First_Backer_Inside]

23 minutes ago, Indiana Fan said:

I believe what he is saying is that it is making the coaching profession look bad. High school coaches that are teachers are involved in school and around kids day in and day out. They are trained to handle kids properly and are on the same schedules. “Coaches” outside of this parameter are not around kids year long. 

Also, parents think that if they are sending kids to personal trainers and position like coaches that they know more than their own high school coaches. Well high school coaches aren’t usually going to be giving personal lessons. They have multiple kids to coach. They have to teach in the class room. They aren’t accepting extra payments because they are trying to get their own team better.

Great points here! Just to piggy back off of this, a lot of these personal trainers are coaching things that we as coaches will never coach due to the system we use. An example, if you are a running back, your personal trainer might be working with you on cuts, balance, acceleration, footwork, agility, and other things of that nature. In our offense, the first thing we learn as HB is how to block. If you can't block in our offense, i don't care how good you look with the ball in your hands, you can't play HB for us. You could be a great Kick Returner or Punt Returner for us, but HB is out of the question if you can't block. Probably not something you hear typically when talking about running back or half back position.

[oldtimeqb]

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

? So you are saying that only coaches with a teaching degree are competent at teaching fundamentals and skills development?

 

Educator as in a mindset, not degree or credential.  And echo pretty much what @Indiana Fan said. 

[Muda69]

1 hour ago, Indiana Fan said:

I believe what he is saying is that it is making the coaching profession look bad. High school coaches that are teachers are involved in school and around kids day in and day out. They are trained to handle kids properly and are on the same schedules. “Coaches” outside of this parameter are not around kids year long. 

 

Ok.  So you do agree that degreed, professional teachers are more competent at the athletic coaching of children.   

 

[Cloudy14]

19 hours ago, oldtimeqb said:

Educator as in a mindset, not degree or credential.  And echo pretty much what @Indiana Fan said. 

I agree - you don't literally have to be in education, but you need to have the mindset to grow kids beyond sports - teamwork, dedication, hard work, fun.  We've been trending toward "me me me" mindsets in athletics and in my opinion - it is dangerous.  The "educator mindset" as a coach is a desirable trait.

[Justasportsfan]

19 hours ago, Muda69 said:

Ok.  So you do agree that degreed, professional teachers are more competent at the athletic coaching of children.   

 

I have seen several clips that could back this up at the youth level...You have parents that want to still be players, running around and barking..both mom and dad's.. from an outsiders view, they look like idiots and I wonder who in the world would allow their kids to be coached by these type of adults...Mostly travel teams that want to pound their chest and say we have a ring from this tournament that we paid to play in..i stopped arguing with a co worker who swore his travel team was top ten in the country, no matter how many losses they took..i realized not to argue with a fool, from a distance people can't tell who is who..

[foxbat]

21 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Great points here! Just to piggy back off of this, a lot of these personal trainers are coaching things that we as coaches will never coach due to the system we use. An example, if you are a running back, your personal trainer might be working with you on cuts, balance, acceleration, footwork, agility, and other things of that nature. In our offense, the first thing we learn as HB is how to block. If you can't block in our offense, i don't care how good you look with the ball in your hands, you can't play HB for us. You could be a great Kick Returner or Punt Returner for us, but HB is out of the question if you can't block. Probably not something you hear typically when talking about running back or half back position.

Seems like common sense and completely agree. Unless the kid's carrying the ball on every offensive play, he should be blocking any time he's not touching the ball.  Your QB will appreciate it as well as the back who is carrying the ball and even some of your linemen.

[JustRules]

On 2/4/2026 at 10:47 AM, oldtimeqb said:

That's my big take away.  Five years ago I would argue that football was the last "pure" sport.  Travel teams have destroyed Little League baseball and AAU basketball has killed fundamentals and skill development.  At least football didn't have that. 

Can't say that anymore with these Pylon travel tournaments and 7v7 leagues that feature non-educator coaches.  I can't stand it. 

I have heard these Pylon events specifically are ones to avoid. They apparently encourage taunting and celebration and that seems to feed into a frenzy that is not healthy. They also don't hold coaches and fans accountable to abuse toward officials (or probably parents to coaches). The level of talent is good, but the other stuff leads to situations like this unfortunately. Although officials don't appear to have been involved in this incident, this activity seems to jive with what I've heard about the atmosphere at these events. I never plan to work one of their events.

[Hornetcoach]

7 on 7 = AAU Basketball = Travel Baseball

The behavior of the coaches / parents / athletes is often looked past because the coaches want to keep the talented ones on their team.  In this day of "I'll just play for another team when the going gets tough", "coaches" look the other way and ignore red flags with a kids behavior because their talent helps them win games.  I put the word coaches in quotations because if you are only trying to win games and not trying to teach your young athletes to be responsible young adults, you are not a good coach, and I don't care what your win/loss record is.  Kids need discipline and structure now more that ever, and if you're teaching them that they can treat people poorly because they run a fast 40 yard dash, you are the problem.  

 

Disclaimer: This does not apply to all coaches, I know there are a lot of coaches teaching the right things and using the vehicle of sport to teach important life lessons.  That is one of your most important jobs as a coach.  When you teach people the right way of doing things, winning is a byproduct.  We owe it to then to do better. 

Edited February 12 by Hornetcoach

[Sparty]

2 hours ago, Hornetcoach said:

7 on 7 = AAU Basketball = Travel Baseball

The behavior of the coaches / parents / athletes is often looked past because the coaches want to keep the talented ones on their team.  In this day of "I'll just play for another team when the going gets tough", "coaches" look the other way and ignore red flags with a kids behavior because their talent helps them win games.  I put the word coaches in quotations because if you are only trying to win games and not trying to teach your young athletes to be responsible young adults, you are not a good coach, and I don't care what your win/loss record is.  Kids need discipline and structure now more that ever, and if you're teaching them that they can treat people poorly because they run a fast 40 yard dash, you are the problem.  

 

Disclaimer: This does not apply to all coaches, I know there are a lot of coaches teaching the right things and using the vehicle of sport to teach important life lessons.  That is one of your most important jobs as a coach.  When you teach people the right way of doing things, winning is a byproduct.  We owe it to then to do better. 

Zero repercussions for said behavior either in those travel call settings.  

[gbjemler]

On 2/6/2026 at 2:54 PM, JustRules said:

I have heard these Pylon events specifically are ones to avoid. They apparently encourage taunting and celebration and that seems to feed into a frenzy that is not healthy. They also don't hold coaches and fans accountable to abuse toward officials (or probably parents to coaches). The level of talent is good, but the other stuff leads to situations like this unfortunately. Although officials don't appear to have been involved in this incident, this activity seems to jive with what I've heard about the atmosphere at these events. I never plan to work one of their events.

I was there both days working...my 2 cents.

Pylon hired an outside security group who did an awesome job of checking wrist bands. Wrong wristband color? not allowed on field level. Parents had great excuses to try and get by them...my kid needs his drink, my kid needs his bag. They did not let anybody without the proper colored band through. Westfield PD was also very present. 4 to 5 officers in shifts roaming the fields and concourse areas. Now parents could yell at the refs from above, but no parents were downstairs that I could see. 

There was an "in your face" attitude with most receptions especially touchdowns. The DB's would also get mouthy on a good pass break up. Kids being kids emulating the pros and occasionally a flag was thrown for taunting, but I did not necessarily see any repercussions. Here was a big problem. Team A 15U  is playing Team B 15U. Team A 13U, 14U, 16U etc were on the sidelines watching and cheering for their club team. So, on a great catch instead of the receiver taunting the DB on a singular basis, 30 kids would run down and taunt the DB and vice versa.  Lots and Lots of chippy talking. Words I don't use. on and on and on every game.

These are some seriously talented kids and clubs. A Pittsburgh team (421 Black, think they were 16's, evidently had 6-7 guys verbally committed) Other clubs the same. Several teams with 14 year olds with offers. The brawl happened between 2 clubs that have been "feudin" and continue to feud as they play in these tournaments. It was brewing and brewing on Saturday and Sunday and finally came to a head. The Westfield PD was on it early. It started and the officers were already in EC1 area ready for something. They sensed it. The brawl starts and soon after, the North doors open and 10-12 more officers are in there. It did not last very long. The problem again....too many players from clubs on the field watching their club play. So, a fight starts here, then there, then over there. Kids joining in the adult fight. 3-4 people kicking one guy. You can see jerseys with numbers on them. It was not just the adults. Kids were defending their coaches and jumping in. Several teams  just ran to the corners to get out of the mess.  Pretty smart. 

Can't say enough about Westfield PD and the Grand Park Event Center staff. One of the Pylon people had already left, and another said she had to leave too with about 90 minutes before it was done. GP ops said if you leave, we're closing it down. She stayed. There were no other issues with fighting.

On a side note...Brownsburg had a 12-U group.  On defense, they were running 2-3 different kinds of defensive zone reads and 2-3 different man to man defenses. Called from the side lines with hand signals. Kids were all talking pre-snap and during the play, passing receivers off to safeties.  Well-coached. Smart kids. The only reason I got to watch this intently was it was the last game. The team they were playing was just as good. That is what I want to remember about that Sunday.

My 2 cents

 

 

[Sparty]

Move all non players and coaches of said team playing out of arena.  Don’t like it, don’t play.  Cant conduct yourself Ike a decent human, oh well, the precedent is set. 

[Hornetcoach]

You wonder why these kids act the way they do and then you see the actions of their "role models" and all of your questions are immediately answered.  Adults modeling this behavior instead of putting a stop to it.  

[Sparty]

I know there are quite a few PMS fans on here, but one thing I despise that they promote is the “talk your shit” mentality when playing.  

[gonzoron]

1 hour ago, Sparty said:

I know there are quite a few PMS fans on here, but one thing I despise that they promote is the “talk your shit” mentality when playing.  

What is 'PMS'?

[Hornetcoach]

3 hours ago, Sparty said:

I know there are quite a few PMS fans on here, but one thing I despise that they promote is the “talk your shit” mentality when playing.  

Which is why real coaches have to unteach this behavior and put a stop to the selfish "Hey, look at me, look what I did" actions of the individual so it doesn't cost the TEAM unsportsmanlike penalties.  WE B4 ME!

Edited February 13 by Hornetcoach