Don’t Blame EHT for Bad Behavior at Street Hockey Tournament

The youth street hockey tournament in Egg Harbor Township last weekend that turned into a disgraceful all-out brawl involving players, parents, and coaches has gotten lots of coverage by the news media.

After all, it's got all the ingredients for a good news story, and anyone who follows youth sports has no problem believing it could happen.

On Saturday, during the Veterans Memorial Invitational Tournament in EHT, it did happen.

What Happened At The Street Hockey Game?

A fight broke out between the teams, Maple Shade Cadet A and Philadelphia Frenzy Cadet A.

As the officials tried to get control, coaches and parents from both teams ran out onto the playing surface and joined in the fight.

"What the videos showed and what we found is the kids had got into an altercation on the court, which led to some of the coaches coming out on the court as well as some of the parents who also came out on the court," Sgt. Ben Kollman with the Egg Harbor Township Police Department told 6ABC.

On Wednesday, two parents and a coach were charged with assault and disorderly conduct.

Don't Blame Locals...This Time

Unfortunately,  though the attention is focused on Egg Harbor Township because they were hosting the tournament, no one involved was local.

The teams that stated fighting weren't from Egg Harbor Township. The parents who ran out and made matters worse by escalating the fighting and showing the worst possible example to their kids aren't locals.

But that doesn't necessarily give all local youth athletes, coaches, and parents a pass on any past bad behavior.

In the ten years I've watched my daughters play youth sports -- basketball, softball, cross-country, lacrosse, and soccer-- I've witnessed dozens of cases of bad sportsmanship, mostly by parents.

Sometimes the emotion of the moment causes people to do regrettable things.

The next time that emotion makes you want to start a fight at a youth sporting event, think about the three adults now facing charges and public embarrassment.