“I make sure my team cleans up our bench area when the game is over. We thank the bus drivers when they drop us off. We leave a locker room the way we found it. Sportsmanship extends across a whole season.” Coaches may drive team expectations, but players implement them. Student leaders set the tone; captains and seniors influence the dynamic quite a bit. A teammate telling a player he or she has stepped out of line resonates more clearly than the same advice coming from an adult. The responsibility falls on the coach, however, to empower players and give them the confidence to speak up—to know that it’s not only allowed, but also the right thing to do. “We let our players know that it’s okay to hold one another accountable,” says Amy. “The whole ship can move forward if we’re all working positively in the same direction.”
50 Milton Magazine
Most of the coaches agree that the level of sportsmanship has decreased over the years. Some credit bad habits picked up in youth sports programs; parents who overinvest time and money, skewing a fragile balance; precedents set by for-profit AAU programs and club teams. Things go quickly from participation trophies for all to cutthroat competition vying for a few top spots. “Children don’t have unstructured play anymore,” adds Kevin. “The decline of the multiple-sport athlete is a result of that, and a shame, I think. Today, young people train year-round for a single sport, which doesn’t allow for their working with different teammates, having different experiences and exposure.” “As a high school coach, you have to foster your players’ getting to know each other,” says Lamar. Every Saturday morning, before their afternoon home games, Lamar takes his basketball team to eat breakfast together in the dining hall. “I want my players to be around each other, to know each other and get a sense of the people they are off the field.”
“Many college athletes are good examples for our players,” adds Anne. “I take my team to college games to see positive examples of talented, hard-working, respectful athletes—role models for my players.” “Teaching what it means to be a teammate is also important,” says Britney. “I explain that they have to respect each other and work hard for one another, but that they don’t have to be best friends.” “At the end of the day, I want my girls to go as hard as possible,” adds Anne. “That doesn’t mean stopping play when someone falls to help them up and see if they’re okay. Of course I want them to be compassionate, but I also want them to be competitors. There’s a fine line between the two.” “In a really great season, you can have both,” adds Britney. “Nothing is better than being at the top of the league and winning the ISL sportsmanship award, too.” Erin E. Berg