Paul Wyrick is the director of Bradley County Parks and Recreation and is photographed here at the Bradley County Softball Complex in Cleveland, Tenn.CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A code of conduct has been distributed to coaches and parents participating in Bradley County's Parks and Recreation Department sports leagues.
The overwhelming majority of grown-ups conduct themselves appropriately anyway, Parks and Recreation Director Paul Wyrick said.
County Commissioner J. Adam Lowe recently reported to commissioners he had more than a dozen complaints of inappropriate language around children.
"We have a new sports code of conduct to be handed out to every person who registers," he said last week. "Not only coaches but parents will be notified, and they will sign it and we will have it on file."
The code reminds parents and coaches that it is essential they encourage young athletes to "embrace the values of good sportsmanship'' and for them to lead by example. The form, which each adult will sign, begins, "I therefore pledge to be responsible for my words and actions while attending, coaching, or participating in a youth sports event."
Signers pledge to adhere to a code of conduct that addresses profanity, safety, unsportsmanlike conduct, drug and alcohol use and equal and fair treatment for all. Possible punishments for failing to adhere to the code range from verbal and written warnings to suspension and ejection from sports leagues for multiple seasons.
Parent and youth league coach Kenny Hooper said Wyrick "makes it very clear when you sign up - even though it wasn't in writing - how he expects coaches to behave."
A Bradley Central High School and former Ole Miss player, Hooper said coaches he knows would never ignore it if they heard profanity used around 7- and 8-year-olds.
"I love football. And when you love football, you want as many to play as possible," he said. "If I had ever heard foul language being used around kids, I would have addressed the coach. The second thing would be a call to Paul."
Hooper said organizers have "worked hard, and we have more teams now than we have ever had."
The focus of parents and coaches should be on teaching the game's fundamentals to children, he said, to help them play more safely and better in middle and high school.
But in a growing program and in a growing community, it is good to put the code in writing, he said.
Wyrick said hundreds of people devote countless hours to youth sports programs, "and that is what's so nice to be a part of, all those special people."
Lowe, who asked for the formal code, said communication with parents is important.
"If they have a grievance, they can call," he said. "There is an open line of communication there."
He said parents overwhelmingly support the program.
"Sometimes when you address things like this I think you lose sight of all the good that's taking place," he said.