SPORTSMANSHIP.
- whatshesaid2020
- Feb 18, 2022
- 2 min read
The Olympics have proven timelessly that sportsmanship is valuable in winning the GOLD. This year's Winter Olympics 2022 is no different. According to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), sportsmanship is a core value and is defined as bringing your best to all competition.
My favorite sport to watch at the Winter Olympics is figure skating either individual or couples. This year, U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen glided to his first Olympic gold. Chen, 22, who struggled in parts of the 2018 Games, continued a dominant performance at the Beijing Olympics to win gold. Imagine this young man's mantra - to bring your best to all competition.
Sportsmanship isn't just about winning, but also playing the game. The NAIA qualifies sportsmanship as one of their five core values including integrity, respect, responsibility and servant leadership. These core values are considered to be integral on and off the field for all players.
The Champions of Character® five core values go well beyond the playing field to the daily decisions of our youth. These character values help young people - and those associated with their development - make good choices in all aspects of their life and reflect the true spirit of competition (naia.org)
Sportsmanship's five core values include:
BE COOPERATIVE: Join teammates, opponents, coaches and officials in mutual quest for excellence.
BE FAIR: Compete skillfully, guided by the letter and spirit of the rules.
BE GRACIOUS: Savor the challenge of a tough competitor and meet it with your finest performance, win or lose.
BE HONORABLE: Respect the game and everyone's contributions.
BE HUMBLE: Take success in stride - share the credit.
The person that comes to mind when I consider sportsmanship is not a great athlete, but a wonderful hometown coach. My dad, Coach Jack Baker, organized and coached non-segregated teams in baseball, football and basketball during the 1960s and 1970s for The Salvation Army in Salina, KS. He did it so that every young man would have a chance to play sports. Some of them went off to be professional players.
The one ideal that I recall him expecting from his players was good sportsmanship. His teams were strong and unstoppable, however when one player, even his best, showed any type of bad sportsmanship he would pull him off the field and bench him. They responded in madness, but were always respectful for they knew my dad, Coach Baker, meant business.
When my dad passed away four years ago these same players showed up to pay tribute to their coach; a father figure, a mentor and a friend. Both players and their families told stories of Coach Baker. They made us laugh and cry. It was quite a tribute as a family member to hear their accolades for a man who loved sports and people.
As a memorial a big poster was signed by everyone in attendance at his celebration of life service. It now hangs in my mother's house and states, "Coach Baker has left the field." He may have left, but his instilled memory of sportsmanship lives on in those he coached and loved.
My prayer for you and me today is that we all possess a core value that is recalled by others long after we are gone from this earth.
What She Said ~ Beverly
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