January Blog

Sportsmanship

The last few weeks I have watched more than my fair share of basketball games at all levels. I have seen great plays, great fans, great teams and great finishes. I have also seen bad plays, poor effort and poor sportsmanship. It got me to thinking about what we should expect from our players, coaches, and fans.

The definition of Sportsmanship is as follows:

Sportsmanship: noun, sports·​man·​ship | \ ˈspȯrts-mən-ˌship \

Definition of sportsmanship

: conduct (such as fairness, respect for one's opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing) becoming to one participating in a sport

I think we all know what good sportsmanship is when we see it. The problem is we all have times when we don’t practice it. This is especially true when our own kids are involved. I understand there might be stories of some of our finest in El Dorado losing their cool. It happens. As I read about sportsmanship, and yes, I do read although I like picture books also, some ideas stood out. The article Five Reasons Sportsmanship Matters in TheSeason outlined 5 reasons for Sportsmanship

  1. Your behavior defines who you are. Everyone learns how to act by watching others and how they behave, according to author and strategic thinker Gary Ryan Blair. If teammates and opponents see you constantly taunting, criticizing or sulking after a poor play, they’re likely to view you in a negative way. On the other hand, if you hustle on every play, encourage teammates, or listen to and learn from constructive criticism by your coach, you’ll be viewed as a positive example and a person people want to be around.

The perception of you can become reality. If you put out a positive perception that is what people will believe. If you put out a perception that you are above everyone else and only you matter eventually it will come back to haunt you. It is only a matter of time.

2. It teaches teamwork. Some players believe their individual actions or performance doesn’t affect anyone but them. Not so, says Ryan. If one player is solely concerned about his or her personal stats, or exhibits negative behavior, it reflects on the whole team, whether it’s fair or not. Players who demonstrate good sportsmanship understand the game isn’t all about them, and that their actions reflect the overall attitude of the team

Teamwork may be one of the most important aspects of life. People will not work as hard for people who do not respect their effort or put themselves above the team whatever it is. The team will not achieve what it could because of a lack of focus.

  1. Kids learn to win and lose with dignity. Being competitive and wanting to win is fine. But how one handles wins and losses is just as important, according to All Pro Dad, an online community providing tips to dads on raising kids. It’s easy to fall into the temptation of becoming arrogant or showing up the other team after a win. Likewise, losing can bring out negative behavior such as pouting or refusing to shake your opponent’s hand after the game. Coaches can set great examples of being gracious in victory as well as in defeat.

This might be the most important idea. Learn to win with class and lose with dignity. This applies to parents and coaches as well as players. Our society has coarsened and I believe that we have lost the ability to win with humility and lose with class. It’s as important to compete to the best of your ability as it is to win and probably more so.

4. It emphasizes playing fair. Rules in competition aren’t created to make the game stifling or more difficult; they’re meant to keep things organized, according to Stanford Health. It’s tempting for teams to go around or break the rules to get an edge over their opponent. But coaches and players who show integrity play by the rules, and won’t tolerate cheating on any level.

It’s not just the rules but the ethics of the game. Recruiting, putting your teams success over the goodness of the game etc. is unsportman like. Nobody is bigger than the team and the game no matter what the game is. Be humble and win and lose with class

  1. It provides opportunities for life lessons. Most kids will be out of sports by their teens, if not earlier. Perhaps the most compelling reason they should learn the habits of proper sportsmanship is it will help them in other aspects of life outside sports, says clinical psychologist and sports psychology consultant Richard D. Ginsburg. The same values learned in competition, such as teamwork, showing respect for teammates, coaches, opponents, and officials can be carried over to the classroom, at home, and when they become adults.

The amount of life lessons I have learned from sports and trying to be a good sport are innumerable. I have even learned great lessons from the times I failed at being a good sport and I hope they have made me a better person. I hope we can impart those types of lesson on to a younger generation.