Sportsmanship in High School Athletics

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Sportsmanship in High School Athletics
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Example of Great Sportsmanship
The ultimate act of sportsmanship - Great Sp
ortsmanship
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What is Sportsmanship?
Sportsmanship - is, in a basic sense, conforming
to the rules and the proper spirit of sport.
Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos t
hat the activity will be enjoyed for its own
sake, with proper consideration for fairness,
ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with
one's competitors.
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What is Sportsmanship cont?
In general, sportsmanship refers to virtues such
as fairness, self-control, courage and
persistence (Shields Bredemeier, 1995) and has
been associated with interpersonal concepts of
treating others and being treated fairly,
maintaining self-control in dealing with others,
and respect for both authority and opponents
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Five Facets of Sportsmanship
1. Full commitment to participation (e.g., showi
ng up, working hard during all practices and
games, acknowledging ones mistakes and trying to
improve)
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Five Facets of Sportsmanship
2. Respect and concern for rules and officials
3. Respect and concern for social
conventions (e.g., shaking hands, recognizing the
good performance of an opponent)
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Five Facets of Sportsmanship
4. Respect and concern for the opponent (e.g.,
lending ones equipment to the opponent,
agreeing to play even if the opponent is late,
not taking advantage of injured opponents)
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Five Facets of Sportsmanship
5. Avoiding poor attitudes toward participat
ion (e.g., not adopting a win-at-all-costs
approach, not showing temper after a mistake, and
not competing solely for individual prizes)
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Officials Role in Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is a subject that hits home for
officials, because they're often on the receiving
end of many unsporting actions.
Poor sportsmanship is one of the leading rea
sons officials stop officiating. It shouldn't be
that way. Officials have an option -- they can do
something about it. Everyone has a chance to
impact sportsmanship, and officials can and
should be involved.
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Officials Role in Sportsmanship
1. Confirm your league's commitment to good
sportsmanship. - By making sure your league has
a commitment to good sportsmanship is one of the
first big steps towards achieving sportsmanship
among the athletes.
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Officials Role in Sportsmanship
2. Take control and admonish poor sportsmanship.
- If players or coaches cross the line when it c
omes to behavior, assess a penalty. A stern
warning or technical foul sends the message that
poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated. If you
ignore excessive unsporting behavior, you send a
message of acceptance.
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Officials Role in Sportsmanship
3. Compliment players when they make outstanding
plays. - An official is not at liberty to be a
cheerleader, but there is nothing wrong with
saying, "Good pass" or "Great defense" if an
opportunity allows. By doing this the players
feel respected and will give greater respect to
the officials.
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Officials Role in Sportsmanship
4. Acknowledge acts of sportsmanship.
- Any time an official can positively reinforce
a gracious act, it helps to reinforce the
positive aspect of good sportsmanship.
Congratulating a player for picking up another
can be applauded by officials, these positive
remarks from an official can go a long way in
developing good sportsmanship.
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Officials Role in Sportsmanship
5. Talk to the coaches about their teams. If a
player is showing signs of poor behavior on the
floor, let the coach know. - A coach is the fir
st line of enforcement of good behavior. Since a
coach has a direct relationship with players, he
or she may be able to get through to a player in
a way an official sometimes cannot. Give the
coach a chance to rectify the problem.
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Statistics In High School Sports
- Trends relating to ejections in High School
sports have been increasing every year for the
past 5-6 years.

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Statistics In High School Sports
- From the 1993 season to around 1998-99 season
per year ejections were holding at 1,150 students
for all HS sports per year. - Ejections jumped
to around 2,100 in 1998 which is an alarming
number, but soon dropped back down to the 1,000
mark.
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Statistics In High School Sports
- From 2004-2005 to 2007-2008 the totals have
continued to increase each year.
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Total Ejections
Totals 2004-05 911 Students 2005-06 936
Students 2006-07 1,048 Students 2007-08 1,37
2 Students

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Ejection Stats Cont.
- Football is an evident problem. 495 Foot
ball Ejection in 2007-08 up from 255 in the
previous year. This statistic nearly doubled in
one year, this is a glaring problem.
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- These increases show a trend that needs to be
addressed. - The best way to attack this proble
m is through the officials who are the direct
lines of communication with students athletes,
once they are on the field or court.
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Suggestions
- As stated earlier make sure your association h
as some sort of sportsmanship program, or at
least that the idea of sportsmanship is something
they feel is part of their mission.
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Suggestions
- Take it upon yourself to take an interest in w
hat is going on related to sportsmanship at your
association. Be an advocate for good
sportsmanship.
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Suggestions
- Establish or revise existing programs. - Te
ll officials to be vigilant about watching for
sportsmanship good or bad. - Do not ignore coac
hes or players, try you best to address their
concerns and show that you care. This is the best
way to keep attitudes positive during contests.
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Suggestions
- By treating people fairly and utilizing some o
f the strategies listed earlier an official can
potentially influence the level of sportsmanship
during a particular game.
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Suggestions
- Through associations efforts, and the efforts
of officials the amount of ejections for
unsporting conduct can be reduced, and can help
continue to mold our young HS athletes into
respectable adults in the future.
It starts with you!