Sports & Conflict
Anyone involved with sports at any level has heard stories of fights occurring between players on the same or opposing teams, between coaches of opposing teams, between parents and coaches, players and referees, coaches and referees and parents and referees. 
Perhaps it is just in the competitive nature of sports, but violence can occur on and off the field, regardless of the level of play. Such violence has even meant death such as in the Junta/Costin case. In 2002, Thomas Junta was sentenced to 6 to 10 years of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Costin. They were attending their sons' hockey game when a fight broke out between them resulting in Costin's death. This was the second time they had fought.
Months prior to the incident between Junta and Costin, a father in Las Vegas was accused of poisoning members of a youth football team with ipecac, a substance used to induce vomiting. He intended it for a player who had been bullying his son, but when the team ran low on water, many of the players shared the bottle that contained the tainted juice.
Those are extreme examples that fortunately don't happen too frequently. However, it is not uncommon for tensions to rise -- and potentially impact play -- between teammates, coaches, parents and other community members. Misunderstandings and conflict can lead to poor performance and an unpleasant sports environment for an entire community even without ever getting to the level of physical violence.
Everyone has heard of sports psychologists, and many athletes at varying levels have obtained their services. Yet sports psychologists work with individuals, not with an entire team or community. Noah Mediation Services is uniquely positioned to assist with large-group conflict within or surrounding sports teams.
Much of Laura L. Noah's graduate study research focused on the impact of conflict on sports teams. Teams that address conflict immediately and directly perform more successfully than teams that attempt to deny or avoid conflict. Noah Mediation Services will work with your team to address conflict and to develop a process by which future conflict may be averted.
Laura started coaching sports at the age of 14 and continued coaching on and off at various levels. Most recently she was the Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts and the Head Girl's Basketball Coach at The Grover Cleveland Middle School in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She played soccer for 4 years at the college level and received multiple athletic awards.