SPRINGFIELD, MO. ? Parents screaming at coaches. Coaches shoving umpires. Spectators fighting in the stands.

Hooliganism has become such a familiar part of youth sports that some Missouri parks officials worry hidden guns could soon add a new element of danger.

“It’s nothing anybody is proud to admit that happens during their program. But during competitive sports, tempers do flare,” said Bill Lockwood, director of Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Department.

Missouri’s concealed gun law — passed by lawmakers last month over a veto by Gov. Bob Holden — remains on hold while a St. Louis Circuit Court judge considers constitutional concerns.

Dave Ostlund, executive director of Missouri Park and Recreation Assn., said the question of whether people can carry a concealed gun in parks also needs to be addressed.

The law allows guns to be banned in public buildings. It also forbids them in a handful of other places, such as amusement parks and sports arenas that seat more than 5,000 people.

It does not exclude public parks and outdoor ballfields.

“In retrospect, I wish our organization had looked at the wording more carefully,” Ostlund said.

Missouri hasn’t seen the horrific cases that have garnered national attention but it has prompted programs to distribute pamphlets outlining team and spectator conduct.

“In Springfield, we have prohibited smoking at park events, and we don’t allow liquor in our parks. But it’s all right to carry a gun. There’s something about that picture that just ain’t right,” said Dan Kinney, director of Springfield-Greene County Parks Department.

Gary Markenson, executive director of Missouri Municipal League, said his organization declined to get involved in the gun debate when it was moving through the Legislature because the 630 cities it represents were divided on the issue.

“I don’t think anyone was aware of it until the governor’s veto was actually overridden, and people started reading the thing,” Markenson said.

Markenson said he recently talked with legislators about amending the law to allow an exclusion for cities wishing to ban guns in public parks. The earliest any legislative change could take effect would be next August.

Rick Kitchen, who is chairman of the American Legion baseball program in Columbia and also has officiated youth sports, said he believed concerns about concealed guns were unfounded.

Kitchen points to other states that have similar gun laws and have not experienced a spike in violence.

“It’s just another scare tactic that politicians and others are using,” Kitchen said.

Mark Govea of Kansas City Parks and Recreation sees it differently.

“We are very concerned about people carrying concealed guns in our parks,” he said.