May might be Shoosh for Kids month but Highlands clubs are already on the front foot when it comes to spectator behaviour.
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The NSW Office of Sport have unveiled their Shoosh for Kids Winter Awareness Month as they target poor sideline conduct at junior sporting fixtures.
Minister for Sport Geoff Lee said it was an important issue to focus on with COVID-19 restrictions easing at community sport level.
"With a full season to look forward to this winter, the Shoosh for Kids message is more important than ever," Minister Lee said.
"It's great to see larger crowds and families back at community sport, and we all have a responsibility to ensure it is a fun, safe environment for children. One of the best ways we can do this is to keep comments positive so that kids want to keep playing and enjoying the benefits that sport offers."
Clubs in the Southern Highlands are already acting however and have undertaken initiatives to foster a positive atmosphere at junior games.
Director of junior football at Southern Highlands Storm, Dave Whetton said the club had worked hard to engage with spectators.
"Shoosh for Kids is something that our club has formally investigated and something we will be taking on in a more formalised way very soon but what the Highlands Storm rugby league has done since its inception is to educate parents and supporters about the importance of allowing our players to play the game for the sake of the game," Whetton told the Southern Highlands News.
"We have an active committee who roam the sidelines, who make personal points of contact with our parents and supporters like aunties, uncles, grandparents.
"If we ever see people, and it's rare, perhaps supporting their kids in a way that we don't think is necessarily beneficial to the kids, we've got such a strong relationship with our member base we've always been able to have an almost humorous way of saying 'hey it's not the NRL, just let them play, let them learn and listen to each other."
Those thoughts were echoed by Moss Vale Dragonflies President Kate Bow, who said netball had taken an all-year round approach to sideline conduct.
"Shoosh for Kids is for the month of May but for us every Saturday is shoosh for kids," Bow said.
The Southern Highlands Netball Association will be hosting a dedicated match-day on either 22 or 29 May to educate supporters about what is and isn't ok.
"It's very common that the umpire can hear the comments behind them because it's literally over their shoulder," she said.
"But people are learning that it's just a game and they're often only five or six so just give them some space!"
It's not just club officials taking a stand either. The Storm are looking to their own players to get involved.
Whetton said that while it was important to talk with parents and spectators, the club is encouraging the players themselves to send a powerful message.
"Hand in hand with that has been our method of encouraging leadership from within the player group themselves and whilst these are young children, even they have leadership capabilities," Whetton said.
"One of the things we've been doing is rotating captaincies between the playing group of each team and empowering our boys and girls to make good decisions on behalf of their team out on the field.
"When that happens we actually see that our parents respect the fact that the kids are taking control of the play and the game.
"If a try has been scored against them you'll often see Highlands Storm players gather in a huddle and talk about what to do next and that really has cut down the sideline chat from parents who feel the need to call out instructions or helpful tips from their playing days!"
Shoosh for Kids runs throughout May. You can learn more about it here.
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