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Show “1a Reapiacass — - wan _ Learning to Practice Sportsmanship| Eight Important Editor’s Note: Published by permission of NASPE. Dr. Andrew Rudd and Dr. ~ Sharon Kay article 4 Step 1—Educate the Coaches Stoll originally published this September/October in Strategies, If coaches are targeted as the primary teacher of ‘sportsmanship, then it will be essential for them to have a solid under- J 998 issue. Scenario Two: hich Shoal soccer teams have ‘standing of it. Further, coaches also must value the. ideal concept of sportsman- a ship. Considering some of the examples reputation for doing whatever it takes to of poor sportsmanship from coaches, many coaches may need to attend sportsmanship programs before developing sportsmanship among their athletes. win. A week before the two teams meet, the athletic director from each school mandates a no win-at-all-cost policy in. light of an increasing concern to practice. sportsmanship. Any athlete seen © cheating or acting violently will be expunged from the team. Out of fear. of expulsion, the athletes play a soccer match that is devoid of any violence or | cheating. Albeit, there were several instances when opposing team members’ exchanged menacing looks during both acts of violence, cheating: anid dispar: _ agement. It seems the removal of harm- The athletic directors wll, LT LL. ial Nonetheless, both athletic directors and _ were primarily concerned’ with removal of violence and cheating, coaches celebrated their accomplishthough they may have thought ment. Was the joint action by the athwere establishing sportsmanship. In letic director. successful: Did sportsmanity, they may have terminated the ship occur! | at-all-cost behaviors of the q UL, J ALLL) ; JUL b ay MLA MU even they realwin- - teams, but was sportsmanship produced? Competitive Model | In its most ideal conception, sportsmanship has been defined as the ability to value athletic competition as a moral practice. That is, each athlete tacitly agrees to play respectfully, honestly, and Gough (1998) has 1998). Another poll, conducted by the. more to sportsmanship than the ability to refrain from assaulting one’s opponent or to refrain from cheating when the referee isn’t looking. head butted requires something greater that the abil_ ity to temper malicious behavior. How to Develop It and knocked a referee unconscious. Or, this February, a high school hockey player punched a referee a reported seven or on the referee to make the call. In other tion as to how we should practice. The eree. Further, Gough good (1998) posits that to habits requires practice; old adage, “practice makes perfect,” sounds logical, but how does the athlete practice something she or he may not ~ tennis player by simply reading a book or by watching a movie? If we consider the numerous examples of - Considering the continual rash of vio- lence and cheating, we must start with the basics and slowly work toward the genuine display of sportsmanship. Recently, numerous writers have assert- If sportsmanship runs deeper than — abstaining from violence and cheating,| then perhaps developing sportsmanship Too often, athletes place responsibility yet, he never gives an! specific informa- habits.” develop violence currently occurring in sport, we players in the beginning scenario, many have improved the play but they didn’t . will need to do more than assign a video -or book that involves sportsmanship. practice sportsmanship. They didn’t play We also need to-do more than tell an - violent]!- or cheat, but they didn’t disathlete to go practice something the play genuine acts of respect, generosity, athlete ma! have never learned. or amicability. Therefore, sportsmanship In addition to surveys, we also can see concrete cases of violence and cheating. For example, in January 1996, a high wrestler. As such, the soccer Step 3—Develop Responsibility words, it’s fair if the referee doesn’t see it. A true sportsman should be able to execute fair play and respect toward opponents without the presence ofa ref- ~ know anything about? For example, can ~ fairly. More than this, sportsmanship is a coach tell an athlete to go practice % the practice of generosity, amicability, — -itennis serves for 2 hours a day for the ship has declined in the last decade and and compassion toward one’s opponent ~°next 6 months if the athlete has never that most professional and_ collegiate . (Arnold, 1994; Beller & Stoll, 1993). learned how to serve? In a similar vein, players care only about winning (Hawes This definition may suggest that there is can someone learn to become a good institute. for International Sport, surveyed a sample of college basketball players. From this survey 43.8 percent of the male basketball players supported a concept known as trash talking, which essentially involves derogatory com,ments toward one’s © opponents Step 2—Establish a Personal Philosophy As the primary teacher of sportsmanship, it’s paramount that the coach establishes a philosophy that is consistent and that reflects the ideal nature of sportsmanship. This philosophy many — need to be established following the completion of a sportsmanship program. a slightly different slant on the development of sportsmanship. Gough (1998) asserts that developing sportsmanship or character must -be done through the development of “good ed by ESPN showed that 81 percent of those surveyed believed that. sportsman-- (Hawes, 1998) ad two the The Current Recent surveys on sportsmanship suggest that the display of sportsmanship is a rare occurrence. A recent poll conduct- petitive issues in sport with the athletes at practice. Sportsmanship also can be — developed via showing movies and ‘ful actions is discussed more than the establishment of sportsmanship, or per- _ assigning books that involve the practice of sportsmanship and. good charachaps, many think that if we abolish Ene. _ violence, cheating, and disrespect, we ~ .ter. But is establishing sportsmanship ‘as simple as reading a book or having a will. automatically have sportsmanship. Consider the scenario in the beginning - couple of discussions on it? of this article. the game: and the post-game handshake. school Steps ed that the coach serves as a critical link. in developing sportsmanship and char- coaches must teach ath- letes that they can’t justify their actions based on what others: are. doing. Therefore, the athlete can no longer say if other players are cheating then it’s okay to cheat. Step 4—Model ‘veur Philosophy _ Not only is it important for the coach to develop a personal philosophy, it’s critical for the coach to model his or her philosophy. The old adage, “practice what you preach,” is paramount. Step 5—Create a Sportsmanship Environment -The coach must create an environment during practice and during competition that supports the ideal notion of sportsmanship. Recently, I witnessed a youth basketball camp that involved a free throwing drill. The- drill was premised on encouraging the basketball camp par- ticipants to taunt and distract the free. throw shooter. Such a practice, hardly acter (Clifford & Feezell, 1997; Docheff, promotes the concept of sportsmanship. Inversely, the coach can develop practice sessions that encourage athletes to - taken to jail (Hawes,1998). Athletes aren’t the only ones demonstrating vio- reqiiiresaa more advanced methodology 1998; Gough, practice sportsmanship. than the mandating of “fair play.” The Stoll, Beller, lence removal of violence and cheating may be a step in the right direction, but if we contrary to such a widespread belief, we continually see examples of violence eight times before being handcuffed and and other malicious behavior. Coaches. parents, and fans also are act- actually want to see the practice. of “sportsmanship, then we may need to do. _ ing violently. Last October, a referee in California was pushed to the ground and kicked repeatedly coach more. by a youth football (Hawes,1998). Further, — last - December an enraged mob of fans _assaulted two high school football offi- | cials. Barry Mano, president of the National Association of Sports Officials, asserts that nents players don’t respect their or their coaches. Mano oppo-- states, “You see players going down the court and they just bump into each other accidentally, and you see this look in their eyes. We really have to get a grip on ourselves.” (Hawes. 1998p. ae What Is : Sportsmanship? Sportsmanship always seems to be discussed in relationship to the pervasive - The athlete who can practice sportsmanship in earnest is someone who understands and values the concept of sportsmanship, rather than abstaining from violence and cheating because the athlete fears expulsion from the team or athletic league. How, When, & Where? or character among Spencer, Elansen, 1996; 1998). Yet, and cheating, from coaches. Coaches, as Whether it’s learning algebra or learning We suggest the following steps be used ‘to develop sportsmanship. But please note that these steps are stated in a brief fashion. On the whole, establishing sportsmanship may be a very methoditime-consuming the scope process of that this goes article. Kretchmar (1994) proposes that a large “Spencer ( 1996) posits that the coach has. a prime opportunity to inculcate sportsmanship among his or her athletes. Teaching sportsmanship can be done through the discussion of various com- Education such, will need to participate in a sportsmanship program before teaching their players the practice of sportsmanship. beyond athletes. Step 6—Provide Sportsmanship Much of what we learn is done through cal, Recently, certain writers such as Spencer (1996) and Gougth (1998) have recommended strategies to develop sportsman- ship 1998; & portion of young athletes is exposed to a socialization process that encourages athletes to be insensitive to their opponents, for example, winning at all costs. Over time, moral calluses are developed that make developing sportsmanship difficult. Thus, the reason why our suggest- ed steps are to be understood as merely a beginning sportsmanship. to the establishment | of some form of formal instruction. how to kick and to throw a ball, some- one had to teach us. The same may hold true with sportsmanship. The coach can formally teach the practice of sportsmanship. As mentioned, educators recommend learning tools such as videos, books, and team discussions on sportsmanship-related issues or dilemmas (Spencer, 1996). While the use of just one of the three tools may be insuffi- . cient, the use of all three tools may be very effective. Perhaps the most important.is team discussions. The coach can have daily discussions of various sport scenarios that involve the problems that currently plague athletics. During ‘these discussions, it’s critical that the coach challenges the athletes’ current value SPORTSMANSHIP continued on page 24 |