SPORTSMANSHIP? DOES YOUR TEAM HAVE IT? Sportsmanship seems to have taken a back seat to winning, succeeding, or advancing. While the pursuit of victory has always been an important part of sports, it is the pursuit of victory with honor and sportsmanship that is really what sports should be about. How can you be sure you haven't forgotten about sportsmanship? Let's start by trying to define sportsmanship: At the core of sportsmanship is respect….for oneself and for all other participants, including players, coaches, officials, parents, and administrators. Respect and sportsmanship mean treating all of these participants with integrity and fairness and honesty. It also means having respect for the game or sport itself. Sports are defined by rules and procedures we have to follow. In order for competition in sports to mean anything, we also have to respect and follow the rules. Think about it… if we win or advance in sports, but haven't followed the rules, all we have really done is cheat. There is no honor in cheating. Playing and competing with honor should be an important goal for all of us involved in sports. If we can't play and compete with honor and respect, we shouldn't play at all. How can all of us help make sportsmanship an important theme of our daily sports life? Here are a few simple suggestions: Some specific things that should not be tolerated: · Taunting and trash talking: How is this respectful? · Disrespectful, "in your face", celebrations. · Fighting or violence of any kind. · Use of profanity or other disrespectful language. · Questioning or disagreeing with officials Some specific things that should be encouraged: · Congratulating teammates and opponents for effort and excellent performances. · Shaking hands wherever it fits into a sports culture. · Helping up a teammate and opposing players who have fallen or been hurt. · Thanking officials for their effort and work. · Thanking coaches for their time and help. · Keeping facilities clean, both home and away. None of this is new or very hard to follow. It's really what we want all aspects of our lives to be about. Let's make sure that in our sports lives; from today on, we never forget the important place sportsmanship should hold in all aspects of our participation.