Sunday, May 2, 2010
Importance of Sportsmanship
From when you’re 5 years old until you become a professional athlete, sportsmanship is something highly encouraged. At your first t-ball practice I’m sure your coach told you not to make fun of or hurt anyone on your teams or the opposing teams’ feelings. That escalates as you get older also. We see it in high school sports, college sports, with the pros, and even as young as with middle school kids. Not only do you not ridicule anyone, but you go out of your way to clear up any unintentional damage and therefore avoid tension. To make a direct analogy, you commit a real hard, yet clean, foul in basketball and your opponent goes to the ground. More times than not, you’ll throw your arm out pick the kid up, and ask if he’s alright. Although a lot of coaches discourage “showing love” on the court or field, this has a field of its own. Its all part of the game and it might happen again, but being the bigger person and showing you didn’t mean anything by it goes a long way. This all starts with that very first t-ball practice. If it wasn’t for that coach pointing you in the right direction, you may not think twice to do the right thing. The most competitive good athletes are the ones that go out of there way to make anyone around them feel that much better. These little acts of sportsmanship start with that T-ball practice, grow to shaking hands before the first pitch or opening tip, and peak at game time when you make the decision to make someone feel better about something you’ve done that may have hurt them. When it comes down to it, a good coach here and there, growing up in a good household, and just believing that helping someone get up off the ground isn’t going to kill you, will make you that much better of an athlete, person, and overall competitor, because if you think something so miniscule like that will take you out of game, than you’re not going to be successful. So believe in yourself, take that extra step, it won’t kill ya, it’ll make you stronger. (That’s Kanye’s)- Joe Nitti
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I agree. I believe that if one is not taught at a young age about sportsmanship, they will never become that "elite" athlete that they had potential to be. In the world of sports, it is known that there are always bumps and bruises included in it. But when something happens accidental, it is always right for that person to apologize and show that it was not intentional. As you pointed out in your post that "showing love", or "showing respect" is not totally encouraged by a coach once you start to become of age. There is a limit to this theory because as it is stated in the Bible, "Do unto others as you would want done to you," so in order to have respect in whatever sport you play, you need to show the same amount of respect. After that, 'Play Ball!'
ReplyDeleteThat is completely right! This is why I believe sports is a huge part in our lives. When we teach young kids about sportsmanship, it helps them to become better person. They learn how to have respect, responsibilty, discipline, teamwork, friendship, and a special bond with their teammates that they will never forget. Kids that learn about sportsmanship will use it as one of there bases in life and will carry it through school, jobs, and their family. In addition, it give kids and adults confidence in themselves and help them go through tough challenges.
ReplyDelete"It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself."
-Muhammad Ali