SPORTSMANSHIP STATEMENT
The Hicksville School District takes proper decorum at sporting events very seriously. It is our goal to protect the best interests of the student-athletes and school district. We are committed to providing an enjoyable experience for everyone. We hope that parents, spectators, and students will embrace that initiative and support our efforts in that direction.
An educational environment is critical to the success of interscholastic athletics. An important part of that environment is the learning of sportsmanship. Without sportsmanship at a contest, the lessons learned lose their value. Remember when you are at an interscholastic event that you are really in a classroom where" Good sportsmanship" is the lesson and "good sports" receive the highest grade.
"Our chief interest should not lie in the great champions in sport. On the contrary, our concern should be first of all to widen the base, the foundation in athletic sports: to encourage in every way a healthy rivalry which shall give to the largest possible number of students the chance to take part in vigorous outdoor games."
-Theodore Roosevelt
Sportsmanship Recommendation for Spectators
1. Know and demonstrate the fundamentals of sportsmanship. Remember that you are at a contest to support and encourage your team and to enjoy the skill and competition, not to intimidate or ridicule the other team and its fans. Learn the rules of the game so that you may understand and appreciate why certain situations take place.
2. Respect, cooperate and respond positively to cheerleaders
3. Censure fellow spectators whose behavior is unbecoming
4. Respect the property of the school and authority of school officials
5. Show respect for an injured player
6. Do not applaud errors by opponents or penalties inflicted upon them
7. Do not heckle, jeer or distract members of the opposing team
8. Never criticize the players or coaches for a loss of a game
9. Respect the judgment and strategy of the coach-refrain from being a second guesser
10. Avoid profane language or obnoxious behavior, which are detrimental to good sportsmanship
A MESSAGE FROM THE ATHLETES
"It is not your game, it's ours, the players and student-athletes that are competing. We hope the spectators will watch, enjoy, encourage and be proud of us, win or lose. We need your support and enthusiasm, not your yelling and criticism."
Guidelines for Parents of Student/Athletes
Make sure your children know that win or lose; your proud of them. Let them know that you appreciate their effort and that you will not be disappointed in them if the score is not in their favor. Be the person in their life they can always look to for support.
Try to be completely honest with yourself about your children's athletic capability, their competitive attitude, their sportsmanship and their level of skill.
Be helpful, but do not coach your children on the way to the game or at the breakfast table. Think how tough it must be on them to be continually inundated with advice, pep talks and criticism.
Teach your children to enjoy the thrill of competition, to be "out there trying" constantly working to improve their skills, to take the physical bumps and come back for more.
Do not tell them that winning doesn't count, because it does and they know it. Instead, help them to develop a healthy competitive attitude, a "feel" fro competing, for trying hard, and for having a good time.
Do not compete with your children's coach. A coach may become a hero to them for a while, someone who can do no wrong, and you may find that hard to take. Or your children may become disenchanted with the coach. Do not side with them against the coach.
Don't compare your children with other players on the team, at least not within their hearing. If they have tendency to resent the treatment they get from the coach, if they are jealous of the approval other players get, try to be honest with them
Don't lie to your child about their capabilities as a player. If you are overly protective, you will perpetuate the problems.
Get to know your children's coach. Make sure that you approve of the coach's attitudes and ethics. A coach can be very influential and you should know what his/her values are so that you can decide whether or not you want them passed on to your child.
Remember that children tend to exaggerate when they are praised and when they are criticized. Remember your reactions to the stories your children bring home from the school. Don't criticize them for exaggerating, but don't overact to the stories they tell you.
Teach your child the meaning of courage. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is learning to perform in spite of fear. Courage is not getting rid of fear. It is overcoming it.
Remember that officials are necessary. Don't overreact to their calls. They have rules and guidelines to follow and are representing authority during the game. Teach your children to respect authority and to play by the rules.
Finally, remember if they children aren't having fun we're missing the whole point of interscholastic and youth sports.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COOPERATION AND SUPPORT.