Why some parents blow up

The parents and adult fans of young athletes often struggle to balance passion for the children with their responsibilities as citizens and role models, experts and parents say. And sometimes, that balancing act falls apart as it did in last Saturday's fight at Kennedy Arena in Rome during a youth hockey game. According to Sauquoit Valley volleyball coach Darleen Philpotts, parents can lose perspective on what youth sports are all about. "It used to be the dream of the child," said Philpotts, whose three boys play soccer. "Now it's the dream of the parent." Spectators in youth sports can run the gamut of emotions in just one game and have to harness all of those feelings into one shining exemplar for the watchful eyes of not only their child, but the rest of the attentive public.

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