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Cheer loud, not mean: the stand's respect code
The stand is for cheering, not insulting. How to make the good kind of noise at youth basketball, why the 'parent-manager' doesn't play here, and the Howler code: respect, intensity, humour, team.
The stand is where you make noise — but there’s a line. Cheering isn’t insulting, and shouting loud isn’t shouting at anyone. It’s written in our manifesto: we’re not here to shout louder, we’re here to cheer better. And in youth basketball, where the players are kids, that line matters even more.
Cheering is lifting your own, not attacking the others
The stand’s job is to lift its team, not to sink the other one. The rival isn’t the enemy: zero bad vibes off the court. You don’t win the ref over by yelling at them; you do win your players over by backing them. You can be fiercely intense and clean at the same time. In fact, that’s the only intensity we care about.
The “parent-manager” doesn’t play here
We’ve all seen them: the adult who turns the stand into a complaints channel —the ref, the coach, their daughter’s minutes— or who pressures the player as if it were an NBA final. That doesn’t fit here. We’re not the bench or the coaching staff; we’re the stand. Our job isn’t to run the game: it’s to have their back.
At youth games, even more so
Remember something simple: they’re kids learning. They hear everything. A mistake isn’t whistled from the stand; it’s covered with applause. No one left behind: we push harder when they need it most, not less. The stand that cheers best isn’t the one that shouts the most at mistakes —it’s the one that celebrates the effort the most.
The code, in short
From our decalogue, four lines that sum it up:
- One team, always — we back a whole team, not a single player.
- Respect and intensity — we compete with passion, always with respect.
- We compete, we don’t hate — the rival isn’t the enemy.
- Humour required — we take it seriously… but not too seriously.
Making the good kind of noise is harder than shouting for the sake of it —and far more powerful. A stand that respects commands more than one that insults. So yes: howl, push, never go quiet. But cheer better. Because this is where you howl —with respect.
The Howler Monkeys Club is an independent stand movement, born in Badalona’s grassroots women’s basketball.
Related questions
Can you cheer loud without being disrespectful?
It's the only way we care about. Cheering is lifting your team, not attacking the rival or the ref. Intensity yes; bad vibes never.
What's a 'parent-manager'?
The adult who turns the stand into a complaints channel (the ref, the coach, playing time) or who pressures the player. It has no place in the Howler stand: we're fans, not the coaching staff.
How do you cheer at a youth game?
By remembering they're kids learning: celebrate the effort, don't point out the mistake, and push harder when they need it most.
Do you have a written code?
Yes, our decalogue: one team always, respect and intensity, we compete without hating, and humour required.