Sportsmanship: Easy to Talk About, Hard
to Define!
Every year we recieve complaints
about unsportsmanlike behavior. Unfortunately, what constitutes unsportsmanlike behavior is difficult to define. What
is jubulent celebration to one team, is rubbing it in to the other. What one team considerss playing hard to the end,
is running up the score to the other.
Like
most people, while I can't define a specific rule as to what is unsportsmanlike conduct, I know it when I see it. Of
course, this doesn't provide much of a solution because nobody sees all of the games and ten different people could see the
same event and come to different conclusions.
So
do we just give-up trying to to have players, coaches and fans act in a sportsmanlike manner? I hope not but we have
to realistic about what we can do. First, some behavior is clearly over the line and referees have to power to issue
red cards and kick players, coaches and/or fans out of the game and the building. Every year, unfortunately, we will
have one or two players, coaches and/or fans thrown out of a game. The most common cause is abusive behavior towards
referees, coaches or players. In each instance the team who had a player, coach or fan thrown out protested stating
that they did not believe the behavior crossed the line or that the penalty was too severe for the conduct. I personally
have had people swear at me, thrown things on the field, make obscene gesture's, throw garage cans or continually yell
and scream after repeated requests for them to stop. None of these situations were pleasant to deal with, especially
in the context of a youth soccer game and half of the people responsible were adults.
What can we do? The following are my suggestions:
1. We need to continually change the rules to help referees control the game to avoid problems;
2. We need the coaches to help their players act more sportsmanlike;
3. We need parents and coaches to set a good example.
Over the last three years we have changed the rules more times and more
significantly than we have done in the prior 12 years combined. We have taken "intent" out of many of the
calls, we have added new penalties to be called around the boards if a play is dangerous because of the presence of the boards
and we have increased the harshness of the penalties (penalty times increased to 3 minutes and a red cards result in an automatic
additional two game suspension). We will continue to listen to the coaches and referees and make changes where we believe
that the change will help avoid some of these issues.
I believe that the coaches have the most impact on sportsmanship issues. While a referee can make a call, the
fact is, a coach does not have to rely on a referee to make a call - if a player is out of control, acting unsportsmanlike,
take them out of the game. Remember, the referees are watching all of the players on the field and have to physically
keep up with the play. They simply are not going to see or hear everything that happens during a game. Players
want to play, if playing time is taken away - whether by a referee or a coach - their behavior will change. When a team
gets a safe lead, there are a number of things a coach can do that allows his/her team to play hard without running up the
score. Put the best players on defense, have the best players try to set up players who don't score very often, have
players only shoot with their non-dominate foot or by a header. In other words, you can keep the score down while at
the same time allowing your players to play harder and actually improve their play. Generally, if the coaches look at
the game from the perspective of the other team and be aware of actions that will come across as "rub-it-in" or
unsportsmanlike and talk to their players about it we will eliminate a lot of problems.
The final area that would improve sportsmanship is the example set by the adults. Every year
I will have someone complain about the behavior of another team yet they, themselves, spent the entire game screaming at the
referees. Why is it okay for a coach or a fan to scream at a referee but it is unsportsmanlike for a player to do so?
Everyone says that these games are just for fun yet one team is playing like it is a world cup game and the team that
lost is screaming because they lost. I personally don't believe you have to win the game in order to have fun. I've
played and coached for many years in a number of sports and so of my fondest memories were on teams that weren't very good
and many of the best teams I have been associated with are remembered for wanting the season to end as soon as possible. The
best games for both teams are the hard fought closely contested games and not the blowouts. Frankly, blowouts are boring
for even the team that wins.
Whether teams win
or lose, the most important question is did the players have a good time. I've seen too many games where the parents
and coach are more upset about the game than the players themselves, where parents and coaches yell and confront the referees
or have angry exchanges with the other team - is this really the example that we want to send to our children?
If everyone would remember that these are just games, that whether the
game was won or lost will be soon forgotten but if the players learn how to handle winning and losing with class and sportsmanship
that will stay with them forever.
Steve
Nash
