Good Sportsmanship: A Golden Rule in Action!

April 30, 2012 -

This is an open letter to all student athletes, coaches, student fans, and parents of Section V Boys' Lacrosse.

As we move into the month of May and the start of the tournament season, I look back at the first two months of the 2012 with concern. I've had the opportunity to view some exceptional play by many of our student athletes on both winning and losing teams. However, I've also seen first-handsome very poor play on the field, poor leadership by coaches, as well as,disrespectful remarks made by our parents and fans. Regrettably, the first six weeks of this season has produced more player disqualifications and unsportsmanlike penalties than have been reported over the past four seasons.

Over the past twenty years, our sport has shown tremendous growth at the interscholastic level as well at the community level. Schools representing Section V Boys' lacrosse have won numerous state awards, including a number of state titles. Section V is recognized, at both the state and national level, as a proud program with exceptional athletes and the finest high school coaches. However, I question whether this season, as a Section, we are conducting ourselves in a manner that we and others have come to expect.

Recently, I read an article written on the topic of sportsmanship. It stated that, "Sportsmanship is an aspiration or the ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors." Sometimes, as athletes, parents and even spectators, we often are so concerned with "the win"; we don't see the bigger picture. While, there are often inspiring stories about good sportsmanship coming out of tragedy, how often do we hear of good sportsmanship being the norm? Not often enough.

So as we open up our section and state play, good sportsmanship must be our norm.

If good sportsmanship is our section's "Golden Rule in Action", we must treat others as we would like to be treated. As competitors and fans, we should desire for our opponent what we desire for ourselves: a fair, hard-fought contest.

Remember, respect all, fear none, it's time! That's Section V Boy's Lacrosse.

Yours in Lacrosse,
Mike Simon, Sports Coordinator Section V Boy's Lacrosse

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