Sportsmanship Education Emphasized in Athletic Programs

In today’s competitive sports environment, the emphasis on winning often overshadows one of the most fundamental aspects of athletics:

However, with the increasing cases of violence in learning institutions and athletic organizations, there is an increasing realization that other attributes, such as etiquette education, are equally important since they are used to produce better persons with improved ethical standards.

Perspective of the Need for Sportsmanship Education:

In its broader sense sportsmanship does not confine itself to observing the rules of the game only. It is a virtue that enshrines respect, and a spirit of balance, as well as good manners inherent in both success and failure. The idea of professionalism is, unfortunately, fading in the modern world, where sportsmen and women are celebrated for their performances, not the kind of people they are. This is where the education of sportsmanship come in.

School and college athletic programs are now including sportsmanship training in the student’s curriculum. This is why trainers and teachers know that teaching these value starts from a young age and that it molds young athletes for a better future in sports as well as in life. The focus is made on setting examples of how to respect the rivals, the referees, the team-mates and the sport itself.

Promoting Sportsmanship within Athletic Training:

Incorporating education in sportsmanship in athletic programs several programs are now going for a comprehensive approach. These are not just once in a while where coaches and parents sit their children down and say something like ‘this is how you are going to be a good sport’ or a list of dos and don’ts, but they are sensitizing young players to good sportsmanship through their code of conduct, in practice sessions, in team meetings, and even in planning their games and matches.

Coaches take a central part in this kind of education. In the way they treat the players as well as the other coaches during the course of the training and the games, they impart values like sportsmanship. Further, programs are fostering peer responsibility in which, members of the team are assigned the role of upholding the standards of conduct within the athletics events.

Some schools have even extended their effort by offering the concept of ‘’sportsmanship’’ into the curriculum. Modules in ethics, leadership, and communication courses are usually complemented with segments on sportsmanship despite the fact that it is an aspect of ‘sports.’

Influence of Sportsmanship on Performance:

Originally, the aim of sportsmanship education is on the promotion of respect and integrity; however, literature shows that it improves the performance of athletes. It can be said that teams that emphasize on sportsmanship tend to have better cohesiveness, communication, and attitude towards their respective teams. These elements act to create a better focused and cooperative work manner and can help improve the consequences on the field.

Also, the idea being passed to the athletes that they should embrace the spirit of sportsmanship to make them strong enough to face all the challenges that come with competitions. They are more able to bear adversities; they also have better manners when they are victorious or defeated. They are thus able to do very well in sports and other determinants of their schooling and in other facets of their lives.

Promoting Respect for Persons:

Thus, the focus on concept of fair play is not only restricted to sports personalities such as the athletes and coaches. They are also equally training parents, fans, and the communities in adherence to these values. Parents are being involved in athletic programs in many cases through seminars and workshops where they are taught on how to encourage sportsmanship and the right way to encourage their wards from the stands.

Schools and other organizations are also not preventing un-sportsman-like conduct from being condemned. Sanctions for such behavior are getting more frequent: they include demotion, suspension of students, and educational measures. Managers hope that respect and integrity will someday become the organizational baseline and not the exception.

In conclusion, Facing the development of athletic programs and promoting sports performances, sportsmanship education turned into an essential part of sports training. From the established programs of respect, fairness, and integrity, these programs are, in essence, nurturing better athletes and more so, better citizens. The future in the aspect of sporting activities is not the number of trophies accumulated but the personality of the players who contest the games.