With middle school students, begin by offering the definitions of sportsmanship and gamesmanship:

 

Sportsmanship - conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants in sports, especially fair play, courtesy, striving spirit, and grace in winning and losing. 

 

Discussion of the Meaning of Sportsmanship

 

• Engage the students in the meaning of sportsmanship/fair play
• Ask the students to give examples of sportsmanship/fair play
• Be prepared to cite your examples of sportsmanship/fair play

 

Gamesmanship - The art or practice of winning games by questionable means without actually breaking the game’s rules, but violating their spirit; or the use of ethically dubious methods to gain an objective.

 

The Meaning of Gamesmanship

 

• Ask the students their view of gamesmanship tactics.
• Ask the students for examples of gamesmanship they have observed in various sports.
• Provide your own examples of gamesmanship in various sports.
• Tell the students about the fascinating result of a survey that Dan Doyle conducted for his book “The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting”.  Dan surveyed 500 of the most successful individuals in the United States.  Eighty-six percent of these individuals indicated that they had played sport in their youth.  Of this group of 86%, 98% said that the experience had been helpful.  Among the most important points they addressed is the fact that sports helped them to become “honorable competitors”.  Many mentioned that gamesmanship tactics in sports often lead to unethical practices throughout life.  Discuss this issue.

 

FIFTEEN DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(Use your judgment as to which of these questions best suit

the particular grade level you are working with)

 

1.    Why do you play sports/games?

2.    What lessons can we learn from sports?

3.    What is sportsmanship?

4.    What is gamesmanship? (At this stage, introduce the concept of gamesmanship by reading the following definition:  The art or practice of winning games by questionable means without actually breaking the game’s rules, but violating their spirit; or the use of ethically dubious methods to gain an objective.  After reading this definition, offer some examples of gamesmanship such as faking an injury to stop the clock).

5.    What examples of good and poor sportsmanship do you see at your school – both on the athletic field, and in the classroom?

6.    What are some things you can do to promote good sportsmanship?

7.    Do you think professional athletes have a responsibility to be positive role models? How about high school and college athletes?

8.    Do you want to be a role model for younger kids when you get older?

9.    How do you treat others who are not athletic?

10.           Do you ever feel pressure to compete or stay involved in sports? Who pressures you? Parents? Coaches? Friends?

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

12.           Have you witnessed parents’ poor sportsmanship at your games?

13.           Remember we talked about the issue of gamesmanship?  How do you feel when you know others have cheated or have come close to cheating? If you knew one of your teammates cheated in a victory, would you tell someone? Whom would you tell? Would your answer be different if you had lost the game?

14.           Who is your favorite athlete? How does he/she behave on and off the playing field?

15.            What is trash talking? Is it an acceptable way of being competitive? What are some examples of trash talking and poor sportsmanship that you have experienced first-hand?

 

The Five Principles of Honorable Competition

 

• Read to the students the five principles of honorable competition, from Dan Doyle’s “The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting”:

1.     Respect the game.  This includes showing respect for opponents, referees, coaches and fans. 

2.     Play by the rules, and within the spirit of the rules.  Don’t try to get away with cheating or taking shortcuts just because you think no one will notice or catch you.  The only real victories are honest victories, untainted by cheating or gamesmanship. 

3.     Play your best, and understand that doing your best does not mean embarrassing or humiliating your opponent. 

4.     Don’t punch back, play harder.  When provoked, an athlete should ascend to the highest level of honorable competition by increasing focus and intensity, not by reacting in an undisciplined, unproductive way.

5.     Employ competitive self-restraint – play hard but with self-control.

• Discuss these principles with the students

 

 

The Dirty Dozen

 

• Read to the students the “Dirty Dozen” from Dan Doyle’s “The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting”:

1.  Fighting, even if another player starts or attempts to start a fight.

2.  Any form of cheating, such as dishonest line calls or fouls. 

3.  Gamesmanship tactics, including harassment, heckling, trash talking, or other questionable methods to gain competitive advantage. 

4.  Scolding, bullying, teasing, or humiliating one’s teammate.  At times, high school and college players, especially team captains, appropriately exhort or chastise other teammates, but this is different from simply scolding a youngster who is less skilled or makes a mistake. 

5.  Arguing with referees, coaches, teammates or fans.

6.  Blaming others for your personal errors.

7.  Throwing tantrums or otherwise displaying anger after a mistake, loss, or poor performance. 

8.  Selfish behavior, including ball hogging, bragging and failure to respect team rules.

9.  Intentionally aggressive physical acts which are not part of a competitive, fairly played game.  This includes contact intended to hurt someone, to illegally stop or to impede a player, or retaliate and get revenge. 

10.       Confrontational stances or faces conveying an “I dare you” or an “I can intimidate you” attitude. 

11.       Extreme attention getting or self-congratulatory posturing after a touchdown, home run, or basket.  This is different from hugging or congratulating a teammate.  

12.       Profanity or vulgar language. 

• Discuss the Dirty Dozen with the students

 

The Nine Rules of “Competitive Self-Restraint”

 

• Talk to the students about the meaning of self-control – “Competitive Self-Restraint” as Dan describes in his “The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting.”
• Elicit the students’ opinions on the importance of self-control
• Read to the students the nine rules of “Competitive Self-Restraint”: 

1.    There will be times when you get bumped, hit or shoved.  Be prepared for such possibilities, and try not to take them personally or allow them to upset you. 

2.    Whether you are accidentally or intentionally hit, tripped or hurt by someone, do not hit back, retaliate or argue with other players.

3.    You must step back and let the officials and coaches deal with any problems.  When stepping back, avoid confrontational eye contact, posturing or nasty comments, because they can provoke a fight. 

4.    Very few athletes play well when they lose control.  If you become angry, upset or hit someone, negative consequences could result, including:

·        Hurting another player or yourself.

·        Losing your focus on the game.

·        Embarrassing yourself, your team, your coach, and your family. 

·        Getting penalized or kicked out of the game.

·        Getting suspended from future games.

·        Getting kicked off of the team.

·        Disrupting your team’s concentration.

5.    Self-control requires mental practice to prevent being caught off guard when an incident occurs.  (It is wise to discuss problem scenarios and desired responses with young athletes).

6.    Practice the “don’t punch back, play harder” motto.  Whenever you are provoked in a practice, scrimmage or game, repeat this motto to yourself. 

7.    Never use profanity or trash talking when addressing other players, coaches, officials or spectators.  Such tactics could spin out of control and provoke a fight.

8.    Never assume it is acceptable to copy poor behavior of sports professionals, whether it is fighting, verbal or physical intimidation, or arguing with others.  Athletic skill alone does not make someone a true role model.  A true athletic role model is one who combines athletic skill with good sportsmanship, good character, self-control and hard work. 

9.    Play as hard as you can, but within the rules.

 

Discussion Questions and Right-versus-Right Conundrums

 

Part of Plato’s philosophy was to foster the practice of teaching and learning through dialogue.

 

The goals of National Sportsmanship Day encompass Plato’s philosophy as well as critical thinking, which requires and enables us to look at things from all sides, and to analyze competing ideas.

- In a recent national survey, 100% of the surveyed college faculty responded that the most important goal of the college experience was to develop the ability to think critically.

 

The following discussion questions and right-versus-right conundrums should help to foster discussion and critical thinking among students, coaches, teachers, and parents alike.

 

Discussing Sportsmanship Issues: The Right-vs-Right Method

 

The Institute for International Sport has found that a compelling way to approach sportsmanship is through a Right-vs-Right discussion.  Right-vs-Right discussions involve topics that carry some degree of “rightness” on both sides of the issue.  Here are three middle school level Right-vs-Right conundrums that will serve as the basis for fascinating discussion and analysis among students, teachers, coaches, and parents. 

 

RIGHT-VS-RIGHT CONUNDRUMS:

MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL

 

Scenario 1

Situation: Long Lots and Bedford have a longstanding basketball rivalry. The boys all come from the same town and every year, they play each other in the last game of the season for the middle school championship. Having played against one another for so many years, all of the boys know each other. They know who each team’s best shooters are, and who each team’s weaker shooters are. Bedford’s leading scorer is their center, a much bigger and taller boy who scores lots of points on lay-ups close to the basket. However, he is a very poor shooter from anywhere the outside, and is especially bad at free throws. So, the Long Lots coach instructs his players to foul Bedford’s big center anytime he gets the ball close to the basket and starts to shoot. This will force him to make two free throws rather than an easy lay-up. The strategy works and the Bedford center ends up taking 24 foul shots, missing 18 of them, and scoring only 10 total points. Long Lots wins the game easily, and wins the title. Is this a fair tactic?

 

Conundrum: There is no rule in basketball that prevents a team from fouling their opponent’s worst foul shooters whenever they touch the ball. So, it is right for Long Lots to continually foul the Bedford center, gaining a competitive advantage in doing so. However, Long Lots also fears that Bedford’s team may be more talented than they are, and that they are only resorting to this tactic to make up for a difference in skill. So, it is also right for Long Lots to not foul Bedford’s center, allowing him and his team to compete for the championship on a more even playing field.

 

Scenario 2

Situation: Gilman was playing St. Paul’s in lacrosse.  At one point, a St. Paul’s midfielder crosschecked Gilman’s best attack man, flattening him and knocking the wind out of him.  However the referee didn’t call a penalty on St. Paul’s. Gilman’s captain, a close defenseman, was obviously very mad and he ran up the field to complain to the referee about the foul not being called.  The referee just told him to go back to his position.  When play resumed, the same St. Paul’s midfielder brought the ball up field.  When he reached Gilman’s defensive end, the same defenseman who complained about the   “no call” slashed him as hard as he could across the arms, drawing a penalty flag from the referee.  The St. Paul’s midfielder was injured on the play, and had to be removed from the game.  Was the Gilman defenseman justified in his actions?

 

Conundrum: Teammates are taught to treat one another as family, protecting each other against unfair actions of outsiders. So, there may be some right in the Gilman defenseman stepping up in defense of his fallen teammate. However, two wrongs rarely make a right and the Gilman defenseman is definitely wrong for intentionally slashing his opponent. So, the real “right” would be for him to control his emotions better, gear up and play harder, rather than intentionally violating the rule and, perhaps, intentionally injuring an opponent. Furthermore, his actions drew a penalty from the referee, and therefore, diminished his team’s chances of winning the game.

 

Scenario 3

Situation: In an important soccer match, Calvert Hall and Loyola were tied in the first half. One of Calvert Hall’s strikers chased a pass into the penalty area with a Loyola defender running right next to him. Just as they reached the ball, the striker jumped to his left, intentionally crossed his legs and tumbled to the ground, rolling over twice and holding his ankle – faking an injury. From the referee’s angle, it appeared that the defender committed an unnecessarily hard foul, intentionally pushing and tripping the striker. So, the ref not only called for a penalty kick, but also ejected the defender from the game. Calvert Hall scored on the PK, and went on to win the game easily as Loyola was forced to play with only 10 men for the rest of the match. Were Calvert Hall striker’s actions reasonable?

 

Conundrum: In competitive sporting events, players are taught to do whatever it takes within the rules to win matches. The Calvert Hall’s striker was not pushed, and his “acting job” resulted in Loyola being penalized unfairly. Was there any “right” in the Calvert Hall’s strikers actions? (It might be good to remind the students at this point that victory without honor is profoundly unsatisfying, as stated by ethicist, Michael Josephson).