November 8, 2004
Hello! What is good sportsmanship? "'Good sportsmanship
is about respecting your opponent, your
coach, your teammates, and yourself,' he said. In practice, good
sportsmanship often is about controlling one's own frustrations,
while being courteous to all others involved in the sports experience...." Good sportsmanship may bring to mind athletic competition; even if you are not an athlete, competition is a part of life. "Most everyone who's
played a childhood sport will remember the team forming a line
after each game to shake hands with each of their opponents or
give them high fives to congratulate them on their performance.
These are visible examples of good sportsmanship that coaches
often encourage their kids to display. ... The benefits that good
sportsmanship provides to kids are life-long. Riera said that
sportsmanship shows up in day-to-day adult activities such as
good driving, and helps train good businesspeople to work through
compromise. It also carries over into one's family life, in which
family members learn to agree through disagreeing, realizing that
nobody's perfect...." Most people do not attempt an activity with the goal of trying to lose, but... "All too often the
name of the game is victory -- winning becomes the most important
aspect to children (or their parents), and the pressure may lead
to bad sportsmanship. While you may think forcing your child to
practice every weekend or yelling encouragement from the stands
is helping, it may be doing more harm than good. 'Be a good role
model and make it clear that success for you is not solely defined
by a score, but by a person‚s conduct and character,' says
Dr. Hoffmann. 'If parents put too much pressure on their children
to succeed, neither parent nor child will be prepared for failure.
Make a point of rewarding your child for good sportsmanship, such
as not cheating and being a good loser. That way, no matter the
outcome of the game, your child can be proud of his or her performance.'" Maybe you're not a parent, but never underestimate the influence of an older sibling, uncle, aunt, or peer... As an athlete, sibling of an athlete, coach for younger kids, or simply a spectator, you play a role in the development of sportsmanship in others, and sportsmanship (good or otherwise) plays a role in your life. "Good sportsmanship
is doing your best and having good behavior. It means working
hard, learning, and following the rules of the game. It also means
treating your teammates, your opponents, your coaches, and the
officials with courtesy. When you congratulate opponents who beat
you, you're practicing good sportsmanship. When you win and thank
the other team for a good game, you're also being a good sport.
But it doesn't just have to do with sports. The great thing about
developing good sportsmanship is that it helps you in other parts
of your life, too. Sportsmanship applies to other games (no pouting
if you lose at checkers!), contests (don't storm off just because
you lost the spelling bee or school election), and more. ... It
takes maturity to put yourself in somebody else's place or to
realize that no matter how good you or your team, somebody else
can come along tomorrow and beat you. Remembering that will help
you stay humble even if you're in first place right now. Sports should be fun. Losing doesn't make you a loser, and a good winner doesn't brag or put down the other side. No matter which side you are on, it is important to find something nice to say. Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
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