What is Sportsmanship?

Most younger children do not understand fully what is meant by sportsmanship. When one physical education teacher asks his class to explain sportsmanship, he hears such replies as: "Don’t cheat," "Don’t get mad or cry when you lose," or "Don’t yell at your teammates when they make a mistake" (Sitz, 1997). Children often have a hard time understanding the concepts of competition, winning, and losing. This is understandable when you consider that children see all of the attention and rewards thrown toward winners while losers do not receive such focus. The message that kids are learning, then, is that people are valued only if they are a winner (Sitz, 1997).

On the other hand, most adults can explain sportsmanship by discussing the respect for the game, the players, the rules, and the officials (Sitz, 1997). Adults can understand that it is O.K. to lose and that what is important is to do your best and strive to improve your own abilities. Despite adults’ ability to understand the complexities of sportsmanship, some fail to display good sportsmanship for a variety of reasons. Some parents and adults get wrapped up in the competition because they are living vicariously through their children (Burnett, 1996). Others might have unrealistic expectations about their child, thinking she or he might be the next superstar. To ensure that children gain the benefits of sports participation, however, it is important for parents and coaches to evaluate and monitor their own attitudes and behaviors so that good sportsmanship is learned.

Ways to Promote Sportsmanship

Coaches and parents can promote good sportsmanship by:

Maintaining a "Fun is Number 1" attitude. If everyone is having fun, it’ll make learning all aspects of the game more enjoyable and rewarding (Burnett, 1996).  

Designing sport activities which facilitate cooperation rather than just competition so that youth learn about fair play (Ewing, 1997).

Teaching children the rules of the game and making sure that everyone (players, parents, fans) abides by those rules during competition (Ewing, 1997).

Encouraging and supporting all players on a team (American Sport Education Program, 1994).

Controlling emotions in frustrating situations (American Sport Education Program, 1994).

Treating officials, coaches, players, teammates, and opponents with respect and avoiding ridicule and sarcasm (Burnett, 1996).

Using moments from the game to teach about being a good sport ("I know it seemed like you got the runner at first out, but I was really proud of the way you didn’t argue with the umpire.") (American Sport Education Program, 1994).

Making sure there are consequences when poor sportsmanship is displayed (Sitz, 1998).

Providing examples of good sportsmanship such as shaking hands with the opponent at the end of the game (Ewing, 1997).

Participation in youth sports provides numerous opportunities for healthy development physically, socially, and morally. The key to children gaining these benefits comes from coaches, parents, and others adults not only teaching children how to play the sports, but also supporting and demonstrating how to be a good sport. This can be done not only on the field, but off.