Silent Sidelines Reminder - October 19 and 20, 2024

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: 

1. Develop our players to make decisions on the field without sideline intervention;
2. Improve the players' communication on the field by reducing the outside noise level; and
3. 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. 

(The below message is a modification of Andrea Duffy's May '02 Presidents Message.)  

A mother was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her teenage son. Suddenly the boy bursts into the kitchen. 

"Careful! Careful! Put in some more butter! Oh my goodness! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful!... CAREFUL! I said CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!" 

The mother stared at him. "What's wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?" 

The son calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm trying to play soccer."