Sportsmanship is defined as:
1) Playing fair
2) Following the rules of the game
3) Respecting the judgment of referees and officials
4) Treating opponents with respect
My son has been wrestling for 4 years and has grown to love the sport. He has improved each year and become very competitive within his age and weight class. Win or lose, I am most proud of the way he handles himself both on and off the mat.
My responsibility as a parent is to teach my son good sportsmanship. Kids learn the basics of sportsmanship from the adults in their lives, especially their parents and their coaches. Kids who see adults behaving in a sportsmanlike way gradually come to understand that the real winners in sports are those who never give up and behave with dignity - whether they win or lose a game or match.
I'm concerned about the loss of sportsmanship in youth sports today. My son wrestled the Derby Tournament yesterday and wrestled his little butt off. He had 5 matches that culminated in a big match against a highly accomplished wrestling champion whom my son greatly respected and admired. My son wrestled him tough and never gave up. Despite the other wrestler leading the entire match, he became very frustrated and twice dropped aggressive forearms to the back of my son's neck for which a penalty point was given. In the final period, the other wrestler had top position with his hand/arm trapped and again became so frustrated, despite winning the match, he pulled his leg back and kneed my son in his butt/groin area. The referee immediately disqualified the other wrestler. My son was happy to win the tournament but would have rather wrestled out the match.
My son could have been seriously hurt with the knee to the groin. Thank God he was not. Even more disappointing than the actual match was the way the other wrestler's coach was smiling, laughing and supporting the way his wrestler behaved.
Let's all take a long hard look on what we are teaching our kids. Let's teach them how to work and compete hard in sports and to always handle themselves with integrity. Let's teach them to treat everyone with whom they interact with respect. Win or lose, let's all be good examples for our children and demonstrate good sportsmanship.
Let's treat our opponents fairly, follow the rules of the game, respect the judgment of referees and officials, and treat opponents with respect.
Jeff West
Last edited by WildWest; 12/19/10 08:10 PM.
