Youth Endowment for Activities

COACHES

Coaches should set a good example for fans and participants to follow, exemplifying the highest moral and ethical behavior. Like participants, they also represent their school.

Coaches/Administrators should develop and enforce penalties for participants who do not abide by sportsmanship standards. This action also develops character of the best performer and gains the understanding that the rules apply to him/her also.

It is important for coaches to display respect toward opponent coaches, participants and fans. They should shake hands with officials and opposing coaches at the beginning and ending of the contest.
The Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA) has done an outstanding job in promoting sportsmanship. Idaho schools have posters, manuals and ongoing information, provided by the IHSAA, to help schools educate participants, students, coaches and fans about sportsmanship.

The realism of this topic is that sportsmanship cannot be overly stressed. Most of the included information in this chapter on sportsmanship is the work of many others and is worthy of replication in the Youth Endowment for Activities Foundation Handbook.

Officials, Judges, Adjudicators and Participants

Good sportsmanship is viewed by the National Federation of State High School Associations as a commitment to fair play, ethical behavior and integrity. In perception and practice, sportsmanship is defined as those qualities characterized by generosity and genuine concern for others:

Play fair, take loss or defeat without complaint, or victory without gloating
Treat others as you wish to be treated
Respect others and one’s self
Impose self-control, be courteous, and gracefully accept results on one’s actions
Display ethical behavior by being of good character and actions by doing the right thing
Be a good citizen

PARTICIPANTS

Student participants should always remember that it is a privilege and not a right to represent one’s school and accept seriously the responsibility of performing for his/her school, teammates, and community.

Exercise self-control at all times, accepting decisions and abiding by them.

Accept both victory and defeat with pride and compassion never being boastful or bitter, and resolve to continue working for personal excellence.
Sportsmanship is vital to students’ learning about the other values of the game or activity in which they participate. In fact, it is a life skill that will help throughout one’s life. Teamwork, dedication to practice, the need to belong, the satisfaction of contributing to a team effort, maturity, diversity, and leadership are all virtues gained by participation activities that consider sportsmanship as the foundation of the team.

Respect the opponent. The opponent should be treated as a guest, greeted cordially on arriving, and accorded respect, honesty, and generosity.

Respect officials/judges/adjudicators-they are arbitrators. They are impartial and are trained to know the rules and sportsmanship implies the willingness to accept and abide by the decisions of the officials of the contest.
It is critical for coaches and participants know the rules of the contest. Sometimes rules change annually. The “way we’ve always done it” doesn’t apply from year to year. Good sportsmanship suggests the importance of conforming to the spirit as well as the letter of the rules.

Maintaining self-control is an educational tool of competition. It helps overcome bias and/or prejudice and the ability to prevent the desire to win at the risk of surrendering appropriate behavior.

One of the commendable gestures of sportsmanship is recognizing and applauding the skill of participants including the opponent.

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