Buckeye Valley Youth Sportsmanship Values!
What is respect? How do you demonstrate respect to your coaches? example: not bouncing ball while the coach is talking; not leaning against the walls during practice; not sitting down at practice; not talking when coach is talking. If you want others to respect you, you must respect yourself first. Respect your opponent, parents/siblings, teachers, coach. Discuss examples of times when they showed respect toward someone…
Discuss what it means to compete. Give examples of ways in which they may currently compete in Physical Education class, at recess or on a traveling team. Ask players to define sportsmanship. Discuss what it means to be a good sport. What does it look like when we consider someone a good sport? Present ways in which they can demonstrate good sportsmanship. Ask for examples of times they or someone else demonstrated good sportsmanship during competition.
One’s attitude is closely related to your self-image and it is probably the most critical factor in determining how successful or how happy you will be in life. The inner attitude you have about yourself will determine your level of success far more than the skills and training you have ever received.
Attitudes are more important than facts.
How you take it is more important than what happens.
The bottom line is that as understanding combines with positive attitude, habitual behavior changes…. complaints and finger-pointing give way to unselfish work at practice. The end result is a team that will never quit. With a positive attitude every game is a good shot at a win, and that excites everyone.
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!!!!!
It’s just as easy to be honest as it is to be dishonest…both are habit forming. Self-honesty is necessary if you are going to be a great athlete; honesty with others is necessary if you are going to be a leader. It’s a quality you must have in sports, and for the rest of your life, if you want to succeed. Young athletes, must realize that the future holds extraordinary challenges for everyone and they must accept those challenges as a part of life. Honesty and integrity are most important. Never compromise on what you know is right. Victory on the scoreboard is a nice thing, but not the ultimate victory. The ultimate victory in competition derives from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your very best and gave 110%…
While the end of your athletic career may be a long time away, the time to build character is now. Just as the building that stands the test of time must have a strong foundation, so must you. If you don’t start out with a foundation (character) you will have a hard time reaching your goals. You will never take any trophies or medals with you when you leave this life, but your character will be with you always. Be true to yourself, and keep in perspective the fact that even if you can’t be the world’s best athlete in your chosen sport every day…you can be the best person every day. Character represents the sum total of a personality; what one is, what one has done, what one will do.
“WE” not “ME” Leaders aren’t always the loudest or the most popular. Leaders are generally the hardest workers on the team. They’re the first to come to practice and the last ones to leave. During practice, they lead by example. Leaders are uniquely unselfish and use his or her talent for the benefit of the team, not just for him/herself. Being a leader is tough and demanding, but the rewards are well worth it. Leaders have the respect and admiration of the entire team. That’s better than being the most popular person or the team comedian by a wide margin. However, a leader can NOT do it alone. Basketball teams with one great scorer/superstar consistently lose to teams that know the value of teamwork. The leader/team player knows that the team comes first. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit as long as the job gets done.
Responsibility is showing you can be trusted with what is expected of you. What are you doing everyday to demonstrate responsibility? A lot of players today lose site of the responsibility that goes along with their rights and privledges as an athlete. What is social responsibility? Ask the players to define responsibility. Every young individual has a very important role towards social responsibility. In our day to day life we come across many incidences where we do have a moral responsibility to help others but how many of us do?