1. What is sportsmanship?

 

2. Do you teach your children the importance of sportsmanship?

 

3. Do you practice sportsmanship while watching your children play sports?

 

4. Do you think parents exhibit poor sportsmanship while watching their children’s games?

 

5. Have you witnessed parents’ poor sportsmanship at your child’s games? Any physical confrontation between parents and other parents or with coaches, athletes, and/or referees?

 

6. Who should be the role model for young athletes?

 

7. Do you think professional athletes are role models? Do they have a duty to serve as role models even if they do not want to be, because of their media exposure?

 

8. Are you a role model to your child and/or his/her friends? Why or why not?

 

9. Do fans at your child’s athletic games show good sportsmanship? What about fans from opposing schools?

 

10.    Can a coach’s style be considered verbally abusive or is it just a means of motivating players? Do you mind if a coach yells at your child? What if that coach uses profanity?

 

11.    Do you think trash talking and taunting is an acceptable way of gaining a competitive edge? What are some examples of trash talking and poor sportsmanship that you have experienced first-hand from your view on the sideline?

 

12.    Who should be responsible for implementing or mandating guidelines regarding the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs? Do you talk to your children about the negatives of alcohol and drug use?

 

13.    Is too much emphasis placed on winning in athletics versus having fun? Is sportsmanship sometimes overlooked in order to get the victory?

 

14.    Many sport video games contain examples of poor sportsmanship. Do you think sport video games should include trash talking, showboating, and other acts of poor sportsmanship? Do you think this will have a negative affect on the young kids who play these games?

 

15.    Allen Iverson, of the Denver Nuggets, recorded a rap album that contains violent references and derogatory terms about gays, women and blacks. He met with David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA and Allen agreed to take steps to take steps to eliminate offensive lyrics from the final version of his rap album. Do you think Allen has the right to release an album that contains violent references and derogatory terms about gays, women and blacks? How do you compare this to Atlanta Braves’ pitcher John Rocker who made derogatory comments about minorities in a Sports Illustrated article?

 

16.     Throughout this past year, stories about steroid use in athletics, from the high school level to the professional level have surfaced. Have you ever talked to your child about steroids and the harmful effects that result from their use?

 

17.    In recent news, some youth leagues are requiring parents to participate in sportsmanship training courses prior to their child’s athletic season, in order to be able to attend their child’s games. What do you think about this concept? Will it help reduce the number of incidents of unruly parents?

PARENTS CELEBRATE SPORTSMANSHIP TOGETHER

 

It’s the first game of the Newton girl’s 11-12 year old soccer season. This game is always important because Newton plays their town rival Springfield. All the girls love it because they get to play soccer with their friends but there is also a lot of tension among the team for the big competition. The parents of all the girls are in the stands getting ready to watch their kids play soccer. Many of the parents know each other from previous years

of their girls playing on the same soccer teams. Everyone is chatting and talking about all their daughters. The stands are small so the parents of both teams stand very close to one another. In previous years there have been some arguments among rival fans and nobody wants that to happen this year.

 

The game starts with some great defensive plays and first half ends scoreless. The tension rises in the stands at halftime, after some questionable calls by the referee at the end of the first. Many parents are yelling at the refs and some start to make rude comments to each other. The kids on the benches are turning around watching, then the second half gets on its way and the parents quiet down to concentrate on the game.

 

However, one of the Springfield girls slide tackles a Newton girl and is given a red card. The father of the Springfield girl starts yelling at the referee. Then the father of the Newton girl starts making comments, telling him to quiet down, that they are only 12 year old girls. After that, it did quiet down.

 

Newton ended up winning the game 1-0 is a very exciting victory. All the Newton fans and parents were sitting in relief that they won and were cheering for the girls, while the Springfield parents were just watching in stunned silence. Then the Newton father walked over to the Springfield father that he had told to quiet down, and shook his hand. The Springfield father smiled and they apologized to one another. After that, many Newton parents started walking over to Springfield parents and shaking their hands, telling them what a great game it was. There were smiles and it was obvious that energy had returned to the Springfield parents, just because of a simple handshake and nice comment.

 

The parents realized that they all care about their kids equally. The rivalry between the two teams got in the way of the parents interacting in a good manner. However, at the end it turned out to be great experience with the rival parents congratulating each other. This was a game for kids, not for the parents and they should set a good example for the kids in conveying good sportsmanship.

 

PARENTS CELEBRATE SPORTSMANSHIP TOGETHER

(CONTINUED)

 

POSSIBLE ROLES

 

Some controversy arose in the stands when the referee made some calls that the parents did not agree with. This brewed into the parents arguing with each other. The rude comments that the parents were making to each other could have turned physical. However, the parents realized they should act like mature adults and set an example for their children. This turned good at the end when the parents rejoiced and celebrated their children’s great competition.

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

1.     Do you think parents yell and scream too much when watching their children play sports?

2.     One way to try to get the parents to get along would be a crowd controller. Do you think this would be a good idea?

3.     What strategies might be useful in discouraging yelling and screaming from parents on the sidelines?