Natalia Ferruggia: Hostile parents, coaches ruin youth sports environment

It's taken a while for this So-Cal sports gal to find a place in her heart for Chico's sports community.

I truly miss traveling to my family members' games, but, I've recently grown to enjoy the youth programs and tournaments here in Chico.

I was stoked to watch the Pleasant Valley High School AAU Springtime basketball showcase tournament, but sadly, my time was wasted.

With more than 120 teams comprised of kids from fourth grade to 12th grade visiting from different areas of Northen California, I was excited to watch them all.

I'm usually glued to the action on the court, but my eyes seemed to focus on parents in the stands telling the girls to be more aggressive and to try to take the other team down.

So, these ninth-grade girls from Santa Rosa did just that.

Elbows flying, arms flailing and coaches screaming out of control - but they still couldn't dominate on the scoreboard, as the team lost 35-10.

Pushing and shoving was the objective of the game, as scoring baskets didn't seem like much of a priority for the "Nothin' but net" Santa Rosa team.

I was truly disgusted with these girls.

Not only did I have to pay $7 to attend the two-day tournament, but I couldn't bear to think about returning the next day to get my money's worth.

Then I was startled as a "Nothin' but net" player came charging down the lane, blasting and plowing past a defender.

The defender walked away fine, but the offensive player cried like an Oscar-winning movie star, and then the crowd and the assistant coach went ballistic.

The referees were left to control the crazy assistant coach, handing him a technical foul and ejecting him from the game.

I am usually the fan who blames everything on the ref, but geez, give me a break.

I am all for pushing and shoving to get the best position on the ball, but when coaches and parents feed these kids violence and garbage and not sporting ethics, they don't belong on any playing field.

I'm not surprised we have more and more athletes charging the stands, attacking fans or even spitting in umpires' faces and disrespecting referees.

Make up your minds, parents and coaches.

If you can't control your kids, or yourselves, then stay out of the gym.

Natalia can be reached at sportseditor@theorion.com

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