"One who plays a sport fairly and loses gracefully" is how The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines sportsmanship. What is a sportsman? The definition seems to have undergone a big change over the years.
If children follow the example set by today's athletes, the definition would equal a sore loser. High school sports should be a fun way to physically express yourself as an athlete, but at the same time learn some of life's lessons, like sportsmanship, discipline, and respect. In today's society, winning comes before everything, but if winning requires neglect of good sportsmanship, then nothing is gained in the long run.
Sportsmanship matters not only in sports, but also in the rest of our everyday lives. In any competition, whether a job interview, a school science fair, or even a friendly game of cards with some friends, sportsmanship teaches you to win humbly and lose gracefully. Sportsmanship also helps us to understand each other better, because when we get along, we can listen to the other person's perspective, and see where they are coming from, and avoid a bad, possibly violent situation. Almost everyday on the news violence is reported at a sporting event, evidence of bad sportsmanship. Without sportsmanship there would be no sports, because no one would want to compete with a person who when they lost, would throw a fit, cry, and whine.
Young athletes usually learn sportsmanship from an older person, like a parent, sibling, or, probably the most influential role model, a professional athlete on television. Unfortunatly many role models now days are planting the idea of gamesmanship, instead of sportsmanship into the heads of young athletes. Gamesmanship is commonly known as the art of winning games, pushing the rules to the limit, and using whatever means, to gain the advantage over your opponent. Coaches are constantly demonstrating how to be a badsportsman. They walk up and down the sidelines screaming at referees, players, and if provoked, the fans. Professional football players should enjoy the game, but dancing in the end zone after every touchdown is not the ideal way for a role model to present themselves.
How can children be expected to learn good sportsmanship if their role models are telling them to "win at all costs" or "just do what ever it takes (to win)?" Athletes and sports- crazed parents should remem...
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...at on the bench, his eyes staring strait ahead, burning with a mixture of misery and anger as it became clear that the coaches had no intention of playing him tonight, that they were willing to test his knee out in the meaningless runaways, but not in the games that counted." Boobie hurt his knee earlier in the season, and was not as fast as he was the year before, so the coaches benched him during the games that counted. The sportsmanlike approach to this is letting all athletes play regardless of their skill, or past experience.
Ideally, society wants everyone to be a good sportsman, but realistically, in the heat of battle, with your adrenaline pumping, you will do what ever it takes to win. Until role models realize that they are role models, and start doing what is right, bad sportsmanship will continue to exist. When you do not have good sportsmanship, you will not have fun when you compete in sporting events. Athletes and fans need to remember life is not all about sports. If you give it your all, and lose, you should not get mad at yourself; it is not the end of the world! Go back out there and try harder and maybe you will win next time.
Stephen D. Keener, writer for the New York Times, says in his article Sports Teach Kids Valuable Lessons, “The lessons young players gain between the foul lines have guided some to become astronauts, emergency first responders, bestselling authors, military heroes, professional athletes and even president of the United States” (Keener). Keener talks about how playing on a sports team as a child can teach the kid very important characteristics, like: teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship. Any kid who wants to get a job when they’re older is going to have to know how to work well with people, which is where learning the skill of teamwork is so huge. Considering Ripley’s point about sports lowering academics, Keener argues, “These lessons directly translate into the classroom and beyond” (Keener). These are some very important lessons I think that kids can benefit from
Lastly, in youth competitive sports you can learn how to win and lose politely, which is important to the feelings of your competitors. Even though teens can learn these skills in school and in their household, competitive sports provide another way for children to interact and experience how to use life skills in the real world. Another example from the article, “ Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at the Highschool Level,” it
It receives much more attention than academics. Football players are often treated like celebrities, yielding confidence, and at the same time creating pressure. High school sports are approached with clashing opinions. Some of these opinions are positive, and supportive of athletics. “Athleticism, among many activities, offers teens a physical outlet to express their troubles, anger, emotions, and other feelings” (Chen 1).
Simon of Hamilton College along with Professor Cesar R. Torres of State University of New York collectively wrote Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport. As a matter of fact, Professor Robert L. Simon was named to the list of ‘’ 100 Most Influential Sports Educators by the Institute for International Sport’. In addition, Cesar R. Torres is Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Sport Studies and Physical Education at The College of Brockport, State University of New York, USA. He is a former President of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport. In this book, the research question is if winning is what people ought to think that is important or whether winning really ought to be regarded as a primary goal. Although, their primary method employed in the research consisted of interviews they got a lot of data from empirical observations. The professors found out that sports are a significant form of social activity that affects the education system, the economy, and, perhaps, the values of citizen. The purpose of the books is to describe how participation in sports affects the participants’ values. In addition, they described what personality features contribute to success or failure in competitive athletics. Likewise, this work is related to Professor Pelling’s work because it also talked about how a sport competition can affect directly an athlete life. For instance, this work is relevant to my research question because it explain how
The journal article, “What does sport mean to you? Fun and other preferences for adolescents’ sport participation” claims that fun, social aspects, masculinity, and identity are the main reasons youth participate in sports (Skille and Østera˚ s, 360). Oftentimes, athletes forget they are on the same team, and they start to form cliques or groups based around who has the best bench press or 40 meter dash time. As a result, teammates start to compete with each other instead of working towards the same goal. For instance, one coaching journal article claims that “moral reasoning” in youth is determined through “collective norms” or group behaviors that the coach has a hand in influencing (Shields, LaVoi, Bredemeier, Power, 748-749). A proper coaching environment should therefore revolve around a fun, supportive, and collective environment where success is encouraged through the full support of the team. This support can further be developed through proper positive mindfulness and code of conduct guidelines set forth by the coach; for instance, hazing should be discouraged and proper communication and helpfulness among teammates should be
Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder and give more than anyone else.” Football players of all ages push themselves harder than any other athlete. Kids dream of playing in the pros, and they select their favorite player as a role model. Middle school and high school provide aspiring kids their first stepping stone to achieve this dream. As time passes on, their level of play increases due to the guidance of coaches. Unknown to these growing children are the consequences of play that catch up with these former role models when they retire. Football players have long been considered the epitome of athletic character as players push themselves to the max in an attempt to reach the pros while building
youth sports [were] the one haven for good sportsmanship," says Darrell Burnett, a clinical child psychologist and youth sports psychologist. "Not anymore. It's not just a game anymore." With technology (etc) distracting our children with violence and so on, we cannot afford to ruin what sports may do for them. With sports being just one of the few things left that can contribute to success in life, education, and health, parents need not to put any sort of unnecessary pressure on their kids at such a young age, or any age for that matter, ever.
Winning is the main goal in competitive sports, and coaches really press players to do their best, and preferably, to win. According to Livestrong, “children sometimes develop a bad attitude while playing sports when they are frustrated or disappointed. Children may also act in an unsportsmanlike manner when imitating the actions and attitudes of teammates or professional athletes”(Richards, Rebekah. "How to Deal With Your Kid's Bad Attitude in Sports."LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 11 July 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.). Children can develop these bad habits, and they can not only be rude during games and practices, but they can show these habits outside of sports. This will cause a hard time for children in school, at home, and in the real world, in general. Parents can also develop poor attitude when their child’s team loses or isn’t playing very well. This will cause a hard time for other parents of the sports team. According to NBC News, “Parents -- and coaches -- who push too hard too young, particularly when they emphasize winning above all else, can easily wipe out a child’s motivation to play, says Dr. Henry Goitz, chief of sports medicine at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo.” (Stenson, Jacqueline. "Pushing Too Hard Too Young." NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 29 Apr. 2004. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.). Sometimes it’s not the
This sports study will define the negative effects of “gamesmanship” that has been encouraging unethical and immoral behavior in modern sporting culture. The difference between gamesmanship and sportsmanship will define the defense in the ethical values that are utilized in sports. Gamesmanship offers the philosophy that “winning at any cost” is the goals of sporting events, which include, cheating, bending the rules, use performance-enhancing drugs, etc/ A lack of ethical and mortal behaviors in “sportsmanship” defines the traditional focus on following rules, developing talent and skills, and moral conduct on and of the field. In modern day sports, the increasing dominance of gamesmanship defines the negative trend of performance enhancing
Sports are an important aspect of society. They help people to strive to reach certain goals and join people together, but they also can divide people and turn a fun game into the main purpose of someone’s life. Taking sports games too seriously can be harmful to both the athlete and the spectator. The attitude of always winning at any cost in sports has managed to distract us from other important parts of our lives, such as health and education. This importance of the value of sports can heavily influence the way that we see ourselves as both the spectator and the athlete by creating a positive self image and distilling confidence and discipline within the player, or by embedding self doubt and inversion.
Confucius once said, "he who does not do well is less guilty than he who pushes too hard." People found that competitive sports are often physically straining and it is detrimental to proper emotional development. This blows away the misconception that competitive sports create a healthy and engaging atmosphere for kids. This and an overly strong obsession with winning create a toxic mix for the child’s wellbeing. People have begun to realize the world of competitive may be doing more harm than good for their children. Parents have also begun to notice that competitive sports often injure their children severely and also make the child feel left out, which in turn is detrimental to the child 's emotional health. Therefore, competitive sports
When involved in sports, you have to be competitive. You need to win more than anybody else. However, athletes are taking winning to the extreme.
Athletic competition does not appear to promote character development; instead, there are some studies that suggest that individuals with athletic experience have poorer attitudes toward fair play. Socially desirable behaviours such as friendliness, generosity and cooperation are inconsistent with physical activities that emphasize winning. However, physical activity may have the potential for personal growth in qualities including persistence, deeper self-reliance, commitment and motivation, and may increase resourcefulness. This is probably truer for noncompetitive physical activities than team competition.
Goldstein, J. D., & Iso-Ahola, S. (2006). Promoting sportsmanship in youth sports: Perspectives from sport psychology. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 77(7), 18-24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215757725?accountid=8289
In conclusion, it is explicit that sports is a positive influence on athletes, spectators and the world as a whole as it teaches imperative life lessons as well as allows its participants to experience enjoyment, fulfilment and gratification. As mentioned previously sports enables its players to bring out the best in others and create unity amongst groups as team work is so essential. This highlights the views I have in conjunction with the views of Joe Humphrey.