Can children be taught the value of sportsmanship in an era of steroid abuse among professional athletes and ever more aggressive parents in the stands at little league games?

by Melissa Aytche

Created on: July 14, 2009   Last Updated: July 16, 2009

In recent years we have learned a lot about athletes and drug use, we have seen the out of control parents in the stands, and we are forced to look at sportsmanship in general. The problems today are magnified by the ability to do the testing, but looking back these elements have been a bad seed in sports the whole time. Teaching your kids sportsmanship can be challenging at times, but is definitely achievable.

No one person is above the team, could not be truer now than ever before. Sure children are going to grow up with their favorites, and right or wrong these children will see some very gifted and special athletes in their lifetime. Sportsmanship is not about the one favorite, it is about what can be accomplished as a team and the role you play to contribute to that team. Without sportsmanship and teamwork a team cannot survive.

The best way to attack these issues that plague sportsmanship is to go at them head on. Talk to these kids about out of control fans that seem to be overbearing and mean. Talk to these kids about drugs and what it is doing to the sport. Give the kids examples of teams that have been successful without the superstars. There are many examples of no superstar teams that have won championships and you barely knew a name on the team. Why, because that team embraced the fact that sportsmanship was the key to success.

Despite the issues that plague the sports today there are so many lessons still for a child to learn. How to stay active, how to work together in a social environment, how strategy can work, and how to handle adversity are just a few lessons they come away with. Drugs and crazed fans are just a few of the adversities in sports. Some are taught that they must win at all costs. Although winning is nice sometimes you have to loose so you learn to pick yourself up and work hard to be better next time. That is what sports should really be all about.

Kids can be taught sportsmanship. Take advantage of the opportunities to work with the kids on what really makes a team and how these other things are just the adversities they need to know about up front. Keep that line of communication open so these kids can embrace the information. Once we can show the children that despite some sad circumstances with some of our favorite stars the team still stands if they work together then our goals can be accomplished. After all, sportsmanship is our goal right?

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