Coaches and parents of a Los Angeles-area youth soccer league weren't allowed to make a peep during this weekend's games.
Coaches, parents and all other spectators at Region 88 American Youth Soccer Association games in Glendale and La Crescenta were told to stay hushed as part of an etiquette experiment that keeps feisty adults quiet and empowers children to play their games with minimal interference, the Los Angeles Times reported.
They could mumble, but only beneath their breath. They could express enthusiasm only with applause -- and when their children scored goals, they could jump for joy but not cheer, the newspaper said.
Known as Silent Saturdays or Silent Sundays, the idea has been gaining steam since the late 1990s in youth soccer leagues around the country.
"We're giving the kids a chance to play the game. We're letting them do it their own way," said Aldo Mascheroni, commissioner of the Region 88 AYSO.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
