Emailed this today! Mr. Kevin Boggs City of Salem, Manager 114 N. Broad St. Salem, VA 24153 [email protected] October 13, 2014 Mr. Kevin Boggs, On Wednesday, October 8, 2014, I had the displeasure of being in attendance at Spartan Field for a City of Salem Recreation Department sponsored Littles Football game. Two teams of 9 and 10 year olds from the same community, two groups of parents and coaches from the same community. One group was winners and one was a loser. The sad fact is according to Salem City Parks and Rec’s own Mission Statement (see below) all the children were supposed to be winners. The other sad fact is if the parents had known how to behave and if the game officials had controlled/stopped their behavior this “Mission” could have been accomplished. To make matters even worse Curtis Hicks, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction for Salem City Schools and John Shaner, Director of Salem City Dept of Recreation, coached the team responsible for the appalling behavior. At the beginning of the second half of this children’s football game it became apparent to the boys from our team, the coaches of our team and the parents of our children that the people in attendance on the home side were shouting at our children and the officials. Community children playing against their peers, classmates, neighbors, were harassed and bullied by the parents and opposing coaches. Shouts of “take him out”, take out his knees, name calling of our coach were not stopped by the game officials or the City of Salem employees in attendance. I sat on the “other side” and recorded this rude bullying behavior. The game ended with the score 20 – 0 in favor of our team, children in tears wondering why people “wanted to hurt their knees” and “why do they hate me”. The children who were coached by Mr. Hicks and Mr. Shaner did not shake hands with the children from our team after the game. Mother’s were in tears and tempers were very high! I asked the game officials as they were leaving the field “who can I speak to from the Recreation Department”. I was told to speak to “the man in the blue shirt”. I replied, “He is the coach of that team.” This is when I discovered it was Mr. John Shaner. I am still in shock and appalled that these two City of Salem employees acting this way against their own citizens. Shame, Shame on you both! Please, Please to any and all parents, recreation league’s coaches and officials, DO NOT ALLOW, PARTICIPATE IN OR CONDONE yelling at someone else’s child. Ann Price Grandmother Here is a copy of City of Salem Policies and Recreation Dept. Mission Statement. SALEM SPORTS OFFICE – CONDUCT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES The following policies have been created to provide clarification regarding the City of Salem’s Athletic Programs for participants, parents, coaches and spectators. This policy has been developed with the purpose of maintaining an enjoyable experience for all those that choose to participate in our programs. Zero Tolerance Policy We understand that sports are competitive by nature; however as a department we’ve taken a proactive, zero tolerance stance towards any unsportsmanlike act or conduct deemed inappropriate at any City of Salem sponsored athletic event. Therefore, any parent, coach, participant or official may be disqualified from future participation in leagues or activities sponsored by this department for exhibiting behavior not in accordance with these guidelines. Youth Sports Mission Statement The purpose of youth recreational athletic leagues is to provide an enjoyable experience for each youth participant, while developing character, skills, sportsmanship and promoting good will among all teams and individuals. Although sports are competitive by nature, the City of Salem Parks and Recreation Department’s intentions are to place less emphasis on winning, while promoting the building of lifetime physical activity and health for each participant.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 13:48:22 +0000
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