Two Cents on Sportsmanship

" Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent.

Most talents are, to some extent, a gift.

Good character... is not given to us.

We have to build it... by thought, choice, courage, and determination."

~H. Jackson Brown~

As wrestling season gets under way, I am amazed anew by the lack of sportsmanship. Looking around this week in the gym, frustration grew with the scenes around me. The trickle down affect was in full-swing; parents screaming obscenities and booing the officials, wrestlers - who lost, storming off the mat with headgear slamming the door, coaches cheating their way through, and belittling other teams and their own players, and spectators disprespecting the National Anthem. I can handle tears. I am an emotional spectator; I've a tear in my eye during the National Anthem at any event. I know first-hand, how winning and losing can bring a tear to one's eye. What I cannot handle is the unsportsmanlike conduct that surrounds me. So, again, here is my two cents on sportsmanship....

One thing revealed in my participation in youth sports, is that the adults involved shape the attitudes oand characters of the kids playing as much as the sport itself does. A lack of sportsmanship on the mat or field, is a result of a lack of sportsmanship in the stands and at home. In our football league, we stress participation and learning, along with winning and losing. The kids in our program will be disciplined for throwing helmets and cussing, just as the coaches will be for the same behavior. Dismissing parents from games for inapporopriate behavior is unfortunate but necessary at times as well. Adults need to be held to the same standards as the kids that participate.

Teaching grace and dignity in the face of both victory and defeat is a hard lesson for adults and kids the same. Nothing teaches a good lesson, like having a good or a bad example. Sports will shape character, for better or worse. Losing, but giving 100% and walking asway with head high - that's character. Just as winning and walking away without showboating, showing respect for the opponent - that's character. Coaches can preach this until the kids can recite it verbatim, but until they see the results and examples in their home and in the stands around them, it is a lesson lost.