Depending on which side of

the field you were on, the observance of Silent Soccer Weekend in Peachtree

City was either "infuriating" and "outrageous" or

"silly" and a "nonevent."

Dan Christensen, president

of the Peachtree City Youth Soccer Association, spent Saturday morning

handing out flyers to parents arriving for their children's soccer games

at the Rockaway Road Soccer Complex and explaining the reason behind the

move to keep parents and coaches quiet during play. PTCYSA members did

the same at other fields around town.

"We want to give the game

back to the players," Christensen said. "This weekend provides

each player one weekend that is free of all distractions caused by parents

and coaches screaming or yelling directions at them, and provide an opportunity

for them to play their own game," he explained.

The majority of players, particularly

the under-10 crowd, seemed unfazed by the quieter tone of the day. Polite

clapping from the sidelines was permitted for recognition of a good play

or goal, but some parents were indignant that they had to zip their lips.

Jeff Carter of Fayetteville

said he was "outraged that a government-sponsored agency was requiring

a suppression of speech under threat of retaliation against my child."

Carter said he thought the

program should be voluntary, but bristled when he learned that if parents

or coaches violated the policy, "the game would be halted and the

team our children played on would forfeit. I was incredulous but in fact

the game played prior to ours had been stopped and a team of under-10

players had forfeited by sanction of the PTCYSA."

Carter added that the coach

of that particular team was to be called in for a disciplinary hearing

concerning his actions.

Paul Dixon commented that he

thought Silent Weekend went well, adding, "I don't think enough people

understood the concept. I was pleasantly surprised how well it went with

the under-6 team I coach. I have been telling them all year about how

they have to talk to each other. It worked and we could hear them. It

really was nice to hear the kids instead of us."

Dr. Nick DeBonis, commenting

on the PTCYSA web site, said. "As a parent, referee and longtime

football [soccer] fan who has enjoyed the sport as a fan throughout the

world, Silent Weekend was a pseudo-surreal experience.

"I heard the parents discuss

the experiment as knee-jerk response to everything from creeping hooliganism

in American soccer to the softball coaches from Rockdale County who were

indicted recently and from a risk management initiative proposed from

some corporate bozo to another attempt by the government to stifle First

Amendment rights. As amusing as some of these perceptions are, the Silent

Weekend punishes all fan behavior rather than focusing on the inappropriate

behavior."

The decision to enact Silent

Weekend came in September after the Georgia Youth Soccer Association risk

management group suggested that soccer teams across the state observe

a quiet weekend. PTCYSA agreed and posted guidelines on their web site,

along with handing out the information flyers.

The observance has been handled

successfully in Ohio, Connecticut, Wisconsin and other states.