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This month's coaching section was written
by Peter
Rivard. Peter is the Director of
Coaching at the Woodbury Soccer Club.
He is also completing his Masters degree
in Educational Leadership at the University
of North Dakota under the supervision
of Dr. Sandra Short (one of our coaching
editors).
Sportsmanship
by Peter Rivard
Every year more and more young people
begin to participate in some youth sport.
The primary purpose of youth sports
should be to provide an opportunity
for fun and exercise. However, youth
sports have evolved into much more.
Adults have transformed youth sports
from participation to purpose, and accordingly,
have increased the stakes of innocent
opportunity. Lost in this pursuit of
something greater for our youth are
the lessons of youth sports. So much
of our American vernacular
includes how critical it is to finish
first, and absolutely never second.
Our focus on winning encourages us to
lose our way when it comes to teaching
values that greatly exceed the value
of youth sports away from the activity.
Read some illustrations about the negative
consequences of overemphasizing competition
in sport: The
Negative Consequences of Overemphasizing
Competition in Sport. (source)
Youth sports should be the essence
of sportsmanship versus gamesmanship.
Gamesmanship focuses on the win. This
attitude is revealing when you consider
how it affects nine and ten year old
children. Gamesmanship occurs when “ethical
standards are determined by practical
considerations of what works, rather
than principles of what's right”
(Josephson). This means that there is
just no clear line between what is right
or wrong, as long as you win. The gamesmanship
way accepts faked fouls, illegal head
starts, doctored equipment, personal
fouls, physical intimidation, and even
espionage (Josephson). Is this truly
the values we want to teach our youth?
Are these the messages we need our youth
sports participants to find out at such
a young age? Is it really necessary?
A 1950 Coronet Instructional Films
video clip, entitled The
Rules of Good Sportsmanship in Games,
Sports and in Life, takes us back
to a different time, but speaks loudly
about the valuable lessons of youth
sports. The lessons we can teach in
youth sports extend well beyond the
field, court, or ice. Almost 60 years
later Coronet Instructional Films could
not have imagined that their production
would still have value. The film's
value continues because it states the
purpose and reason for the importance
of sportsmanship in the simplest of
terms.
Two sites can help you as an educator
explain the value of sportsmanship and
the emphasis on the journey versus the
result. Pursuing
Victory with Honor and Liberty Mutual's
Responsible
Sport are both excellent resources
for educating people who are involved
with youth sports, volunteers, and participants.
Pursuing
Victory with Honor examines the
common arguments we hear about why it
is okay to pursue victory with no care
for the lessons we are teaching. On
this website is a useful and insightful
article by Michael Josephson titled
A
Training Program for Coaches on Ethics,
Sportspersonship and Character-Building
in Sports.
Responsible
Sport (RS) provides you, as a youth
sport educator, with an educational
program for both your parent volunteer
coaches and parents of children in your
program. Using the same source in educating
both groups will provide common vocabulary
and common viewpoints. Providing a foundation
for your volunteer parent coaches and
parents will supply your program with
a place to begin the discussion on the
value of sportsmanship.
As youth sports educators we can reintroduce
the importance of sportsmanship. It
will take time and focus, but it can
be done. Hopefully you will find the
resources above useful. Youth sports
are great. Let's make them better by
contributing more then what is learned
just on the field, court, or ice.
For more information on teaching sportsmanship
and character see this month's article
by Tom Winiecki - http://pelinks4u.jasonbuckboyer.com/articles/Winiecki0308.htm
resources
Gamesmanship
means doing whatever you can to win,
while staying within the rules. Sportsmanship
means having good conduct during games,
having respect for your opponents, and
being gracious in victory and defeat.
sportsmanship articles
- Who
Do We Blame For Our Loss? -I
am writing this article in response
to something I read in the paper from
a coach, which I found very disturbing,
especially in light of our constant
quest to improve sportsmanship among
our athletes, students, and fans.
This is something I believe every
coach, athlete, parent and spectator
should consider and take a critical
look at how they themselves handle
these situations. It concerns public
criticism and blaming of officials
for a loss!
- Coaches
Keep Flame of Sportsmanship Burning - The first and foremost guardian
of the sacred flame of sportmanship
is the coach. His or her ultimate
responsibility cannot be shuttled
off to the athletic director, principal
or cheerleaders. Of paramount importance
is that this trust cannot be shuttled
to the referees. As the leader of
the TEAM FAMILY, the coach is responsible
to train each member in this basic
fundamental of sportsmanship: respect
others, and in so doing you will earn
respect for yourself. Of course, the
coach needs support in this endeavor
from other members of the sportsmanship
team, such as school administrators,
cheerleaders, and officials; however,
the final responsibility of teaching
lies squarely on the shoulders of
THE COACH.
- Sportsmanship
Begins At Home - Parents...what
are you teaching your kids about sportsmanship?
- A
Student Surveys Students on Sportsmanship
- Erin Jury, junior at Houghton Lake
High School, attended the MHSAA Statewide
Sportsmanship Summit in Lansing on
September 24. Afterward, she conducted
an informal survey of student-athletes
at Houghton Lake and neighboring high
schools to find out what kinds of
fan behavior impact student-athletes
positively or negatively. She made
a point to talk to athletes from all
varsity sports, and she asked the
same three open-ended questions of
all students. Read the article to
find out her results.
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