Thanks for coming to support me today. As my friends and I play I want you to remember a few things:
– Please congratulate and applaud both teams and keep your voice down.
– I am here to have fun. Please encourage me and applaud all the players, no matter who we play for.
– You are here representing me: please do not embarrass me by being negative, shouting or swearing.
– Please do not stand too close to the pitch as this can distract me from my game and I cannot concentrate properly.
– The Referees are also young so please do not question their decisions, our coaches will give me help if needed.
– Please do not coach me from the side, my coach is here to teach me and too many instructions confuse me.
– I think doing my best and learning to play is more important than winning. There will be no scores recorded so don’t ask me the score but ask me if I have had fun.
– Praise me for good skills, discipline, sportsmanship and effort; these are the things that make me a winner.
– Do not criticize my mistakes, I will be scared to try things again. Mistakes will make me a better player because I can learn from them.
– Please do challenge in a polite way any spectators who behave badly and in the wrong way. Tell them that we do not want negative behaviour.
– I hope to make you proud of me – please make me proud of you.