With one second left on the clock, she stands on the foul line bouncing the basketball. If she makes the free throw, the game goes into overtime. A miss and her team loses. There is complete silence in the gym. She raises the ball into her shooting position.

"Miss it!" screams an adult spectator, just as she is about to let the ball go.In another area game, a spectator from the top of the bleachers continues to shout down at a female basketball official."That was a foul!" he yells. "Go home and bake some cookies. You belong in the kitchen, not on a court!" His yelling at her is non-stop.The athletic director goes into the bleachers and tells the spectator he will have to exit the gym if he continues his ranting. The fan stops until the game is over. Then he walks in front of the scoring table where the AD is sitting. He makes an obscene gesture into the AD's face and runs for the door. The AD catches the fan into the parking lot and places him on probation for the rest of the year.These incidents have occurred recently at nearby high schools. They are just two local examples of a nationwide problem concerning unruly fan behavior at high school athletic events.Schools have taken a proactive approach toward sportsmanship. Before each event, an announcer informs the fans that unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated and removal from the premises may be the result if it occurs. At Panther Valley, the PIAA Code of Conduct Policy is reviewed by officials with players and coaches before each game and then read to the fans.Lehighton AD, Kyle Spotts contends that a code of conduct policy has another purpose."The announcement may not prevent inappropriate actions on the part of the fans, but if we need to address a situation, we can tell the offender that we have a policy in place and it then becomes evidence in case further action is needed."In worst-case scenarios, physical violence or threats against school or athletic personnel necessitate a police presence. In extreme cases when two rival schools play each other resulting in a pattern of violent fan behavior, then no fans are allowed at their future scheduled games.Spotts says that unruly behavior is more frequent at basketball games than at football games because of the proximity of the fans to the action on the court compared to the distance of the spectator stands to the game on the gridiron."When football fans yell inappropriate remarks, most of the time they go unheard. With basketball, the distance from the game to the fan is so close that negative comments can be heard by officials, players, and coaches," says Spotts.Surprisingly, more adult spectators exhibit inappropriate behavior than do students, who may fear disciplinary action. The age of the offender is widespread. Even grandparents of athletes have been heard yelling derogatory remarks at referees and opponent's coaches and players.A few schools throughout the country have implemented creative measures in their attempts to stop inappropriate behavior.Tony Koontz, an athletic director at an Oregon high school, fills up big bowls of hard candy and offers them to spectators arriving at basketball games."Sucking on hard candy can have a soothing effect," he says. "And it's difficult to yell when you have one in your mouth. At a recent big conference game, one fan grabbed two candies from the bowl and as he passed me he said, 'it looks like it could be a two sucker game!'"Steven Haines, AD at Seneca High School in Illinois, will actually go into the stands to high five a fan if he yells out "Good play," to an opposing player or to another fan who applauds an injured opponent who is helped off the court.Some ADs advocate that good fans should ask unruly fans to stop bad behavior, but this action may actually provoke confrontation, which then can lead to the involvement of law enforcement and the ejection of both of the spectators.Spotts, like other AD's, expects his school's fans to act properly at away games too, and if he should get a report about an incident, he will follow up."If we can identify the fan, we will arrange for a meeting in my office and review our policy and expectations with him. If there are no further accusations or penalties, the person involved leaves with a clean slate."Kristin Black, athletic director at Panther Valley, says that incidents with spectators at her school are minimal. She believes that having an administrator on site, in addition to her recognizable presence, acts as a deterrent for unacceptable behavior."When we do have an issue, it usually is a heat of the moment reaction by a fan," says Black. "More times than not the fan apologizes after the game or calls me the next day to admit he was out of line."With apologies aside, the problem of fan behavior has left permanent damage within the officiating ranks.The National Association of Sports Officials reports that nearly 80% of all high school officials who quit the profession do so because of poor sportsmanship by parents.Jason Boris, a 16-year football official, says that some fans can't sit back and just watch a sporting event."Parents today want to be involved in the game," says Boris. "They want their voices heard and they like drawing attention to themselves. Unless it gets out of hand, sometimes it's better to look the other way for your own sake and so the incident doesn't escalate."A veteran official of over 20 years, Dan Rossino says that some schools take the initiative to have parents sign code of conduct contracts."I'm sure it helps, especially if violations occur, but when confronted about inappropriate behavior, some parents who cross the line think they have done nothing wrong," says Rossino, who claims about 10 percent of the nearly 60 games he officiates in a season require intervention of school personnel with unruly fans.He adds, "That number is for the hardcore problems. An uncooperative parent can be banned for a season or even for life from all school athletic events. The percentage would be much larger if you include fans who yell only once or twice at the officials or coaches."Phil Vaccaro, the athletic director at Reading (Mass) High School, puts the issue of fan behavior into this paraphrased perspective.Results of athletic games will be determined by the final numbers on the scoreboard, but in the much larger picture, the imprint left on the game of life will be the result of the behavior of our fans and its enduring effect it has upon our young athletes.**********BOMBERS END SKID ... On Jan. 10, the Palmerton boys gained a 57-53 Colonial League win at Notre Dame. The victory snapped a 16-game losing skid against the Crusaders.The last time the Blue Bombers had defeated Notre Dame was Dec. 27, 2001 when they earned a 73-67 home win.Last Saturday's victory, though, came at the Crusaders' gym. The last time Palmerton had won there was Dec. 18, 1995 when it posted a 56-53 win.The Bombers were coached by Jerry Snyder back in 1995, while Mike Snyder was the head coach in 2001.**********SCORING BARRAGE ... Last Thursday, the Lehighton and Blue Mountain boys hooked in a classic Schuylkill League contest.The two teams went to double overtime before the Eagles pulled out a 90-86 victory.The 176 combined points were the most in an Indians game since Feb. 12, 1991 569 games ago.Ironically, the last Lehighton game with over 176 combined points involved Blue Mountain winning in double overtime. That contest had 188 points as the Eagles pulled out a 95-93 victory.**********PUNCHED THEIR TICKETS ... There are still three weeks left in the regular season, but the Tamaqua boys and Palmerton girls basketball teams have already locked up District 11 playoff berths.Through Wednesday's games, the Blue Raiders are one of six boys teams in the district who have clinched D-11 berths while the Bombers are one of nine girls teams that have secured spots in the postseason.**********SCORING AT WILL ... Jim Thorpe freshman star Kayley Kovac has already scored 318 points this season, which accounts for 45% of her team's offense. Kovac's point total is much more than anyone else's in the Times News coverage area.Kovac has been to the foul line 173 times through 13 games (13 attempts per game), which greatly benefits her scoring total.