Rugged Test rugby league forward Sam Thaiday has recalled the daunting feeling as a youngster when parents would scream at their kids to "get him".
Thaiday is one of several Australian sports stars to share their experiences for a new campaign to stop poor sideline behaviour in junior sport.
The Let Kids Be Kids campaign, launched on Tuesday, is aimed at educating parents and spectators who attend children's sports.
Play By The Rules national manager Peter Downs said the message was simple: let kids be kids, let them enjoy their sport and have fun with their mates.
"We know that aggression from the sideline is associated with burn-out and sport discontinuation in junior sports," Downs told AAP.
While it is difficult to quantify how widespread the problem is, Downs said: "You can almost pick any high-profile sports person and they'd have some experience with it."
In a video for the campaign, Thaiday said it felt like everyone was against him at times.
"Being a talented young rugby league player, parents would scream at the opposition to tackle me, to get me, to do whatever it took to control me out there on the field," he said.
"That can be a little bit daunting as a young kid."
Test cricketer Usman Khawaja recalled sideline abuse growing up.
"Obviously (I) looked very different to most of the people around," he said.
"It wasn't the majority of people, but it was tough to hear, and it made the game less fun.
"It made life less fun at times too so as a kid it was pretty tough."
Cricket and soccer international Ellyse Perry said she witnessed players being abused by their parents or family members.
"That was always quite upsetting for everyone involved on the field because the game stopped being about fun and way more about trying to be the best player out there," she said.
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