SIDELINE SMARTS

The best way to teach sportsmanship? Model it yourself at every game. Here's how:

1.   Support the entire team, not just your child, advises author Brooke de Lench. "Choose cheers that compliment the team as a whole," she says.

2.   Cheer for the other team too. You'll be sending the message that sports are about effort and fun, not just winning, says Shane Murphy, sports psychologist and author of "The Cheers and the Tears: A Healthy Alternative to the Dark Side of Youth Sports Today."

3.   Don't critique the players. "Negative remarks have a way of reverberating through the crowd and undermining the teamwork on the field," says de Lench.

4.   Thank the officials and coaches. "If you keep it up," suggests Murphy, "your example is sure to spread to other parents on your team."

5.   Talk to parents on the opposing team, Murphy says. "They're not the enemy."

A CURE FOR SIDELINE SCREAMERS

When her son was playing travel soccer, Stephanie Schwartz of Chappaqua, New York, organized a scrimmage between players and their parents. "It was great for everyone," says Stephanie, "because it wasn't competitive -- it was just in the spirit of having a good time." The game also yielded an unexpected benefit: perspective. Kate Stone Lombardi, whose son also played on the team, considered the game a natural cure for poor sideline behavior. "Try playing soccer," she says, "and you'll never again yell out instructions or criticisms."