THEY are every sports coach’s worst nightmare - the pushy sideline parents.

To listen to them, you’d scarcely believe their taunts and foul mouthed punditry are aimed at children.

Whether questioning tactics, screaming abuse or demanding their budding superstar be played up-front, the blight of amateur sports can be seen in parks and sports halls all across Essex.

So what do the ex-pros and coaches think of the growing trend? Reporter JAMES COX finds out.

KEM IZZET

AS a former Colchester United captain, Kem Izzet, is used to hearing sideline pundits.

Now, as founder and coach at his own football academy he is getting used to the fans also being parents of his students.

“Our parents are great and understand we are pros, but I wouldn’t allow any abuse from the sidelines,” he says.

“A couple of times we’ve had visiting teams shouting out and we’ve had to tell the managers ‘that’s not how we don’t things’.

“But yeah, I’ve heard it all.”

As a young lad, Kem grew up in a dedicated football environment.

His brother, Muzzy, played for Leicester and Birmingham, was firmly encouraged by his football mad father.

“My dad pushed my brother and I think he might have regretted that later,” Kem admitted.

“He was tough on him to start with. I used to go and watch him play, but I was there because I enjoyed it.”

His father was also not afraid to give feedback on Kem’s performances when he eventually turned pro.

“Even when I was in the Colchester first team, I would be in the car on the way home and I’d ask dad how I played,” he said.

“He would say ‘I don’t think you played that well today’ and it riled me. But I had asked his opinion and he had a point.

“I get the hump for an hour but it made me a better player.”

Still, Kem says coaching young people is best left to the pros.

“If you can’t do maths you wouldn’t start telling a maths teacher how to do his job,” he says.

“But everyone has an opinion on football but they are rarely correct. They can’t all be!”

Kem still plays for Needham Market, but his new focus is on the footballers of the future. He runs the Kem Izzet Soccer Academy (KISA) and Football Careers Centre (FCC).

By next season he will be developing the game of youngsters from two years old to 19 year olds.

“A good coach will play them in different positions,” he says.

“Parents might want their kid to be the one scoring goals but just because you’ve scored twice doesn’t mean you’ve had a good game.

“A good coach has to be strong and not give in to that pressure.”

As a player, Kem remembers getting ‘advice’ from the crowd but said he was never pressured to change his game plan.

“Every single player has a role given to them by the manager,” he says.

“Mine was about work rate and being aggressive, to be physical and give simple passes. If a shot was on I would take it but never because the crowd were calling for me to.”

As a dad of three, is Kem the pushy dad he bans from his own touchlines?

“My two eldest, eight and six years old, have started training with me on Friday sessions,” he says.

“If they want to do it because they are having fun and getting exercise, that’s great, but I won’t be a pushy parent.

“I see a lot of them trying to live their own dreams through the kids. They should try and encourage them.

“But when you see a dad screaming at these little kids it’s unbelievable.”

To inquire about joining Kem’s football sessions email kemizett@hotmail.co.uk or call 07597768869.

IT'S NOT JUST FOOTBALL

You will hear pushy parents on the side of cricket, rugby and athletics pitches.

Dance competitions, particularly hip hop and street dancing shows, have a reputation as a hot bed for high running parental emotions.

Karen Woodhams, whose 16-year-old daughter, Holly, is a talented dancer has seen it first hand, “The competitions are mad and I’m a bit of a dance mum myself,” she admits.

“Sometimes I look at the other mums and they are going a bit far. I have witnessed a few incidents.”

Holly’s dancing schedule has quietened down while she studies for her GCSEs but she still performs with the Sugar Free Dance group and holds dreams of going pro.

“Her dad is a bit more about her having a good education and a back up,” Karen, from Ramsden Heath says.

“I think she’s so good, she’s a natural.”

But the talented teen has given her mother a dressing down for her over-excited sideline antics.

“She has said to me ‘okay mum, you have to behave’,” says Karen.

They have witnessed a fair bit of trouble between warring families at competitions.

“The security can have their hands full,” admits Karen.

“I remember once some mums found out some of the competitors knew the DJ and had practiced to the music before hand.

“That all kicked off!”

THE REF

IT’S not only sportsmen who get the rough end of touchline parents - but also referees.

Chris Lee, chairman of Basildon Referees Association, says parents should follow the FA's respect campaign when they are supporting their children.

“I would ask the parents ‘what do they get out of it?’” he says.

“Is it for your child's fitness? Is it because Tommy next door does it?

“Whatever the reason, it does no one any good if there are parents having a punch up on the sidelines.”

Chris became a referee for a bet after a colleague challenged him to do better than the officials he complained about.

He says that while young players are impressionable on the pitch, so to are the teenage refs who cut their teeth in youth football.

“Because they are learning and are inexperienced they are likely make some mistakes,” he says.

“Youth football is political to begin with because you get players saying ‘that guy is banned’ or that guy ‘isn’t signed on’ and you are gearing up for a bun fight because the game has even kicked off.

“When a parent starts criticising his decisions you have to remember, this is a 35 year old dad screaming at a 14 year old ref.”

The FA offers clubs incentives to control match day atmosphere by offering incentives for well behaved clubs.

Both players, and supporters, can sign a behaviour agreement contract.