Mary Croswell
Dear editor:
What is good sportsmanship? Good sportsmanship is when teammates, opponents, coaches, parents, and officials treat each other with respect.
Displaying good sportsmanship isn’t always easy; it can be tough to congratulate the opposing team after losing a close or important game.
Our local arenas are buzzing at this time of year with hockey games and tournaments that bring parents, grandparents, and friends together to watch “their” player play the sport. It is definitely a favourite pastime in our small communities in Northern Ontario.
Coaches can help their players understand that good sportsmanship includes both small gestures and heroic efforts. Sportsmanship sometimes is as simple as shaking the hands of the opposition, or acknowledging good plays made by others and accepting bad calls gracefully.
Acting in a sportsmanlike manner, you gradually will come to understand that the real winners in sports are those who know how to persevere and behave with dignity—whether they win or lose. This should apply to the fans in the stands and the coaches on the benches with our children.
Coaches who emphasize good sportsmanship see winning as just one of several goals they like players to achieve, help players to take pride in their accomplishments, and to improve skills so that all players see themselves as winners.
Players and teams which practise good sportsmanship are likely to carry the respect and appreciation of other people into other aspects of their lives.
In the end, it’s the extra effort that separates a winner from second place, but winning takes more than that, too. It starts with complete command of taught fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, teamwork, and self-sacrifice.
And finally, it takes a great deal of fairness and respect for your fellow players, coaches, officials, and parents.
Put all these things together and even if you don’t win, how can you possibly lose!
Sincerely,
Mary Croswell
Emo, Ont.
