Building Responsible Athletic Programs

written by Deborah Cadorette, Eugene T. Moore School of Education, Clemson University, SC

This issue theme is sportsmanship and character, a topic that requires consistent attention and reinforcement by coaches and school districts. The following information came from a resource I discovered online from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Molly Gregg and Chuck Hill, 4-H Specialists who developed the Alabama 4-H "Leading with Character" guide entitled Sports Ethics which is comprised of a coalition project developed through the Josephson Institute of Ethics. Dusty Oates discusses sportsmanship and character expectations, and how we might benefit from ethical practices expected of athletes in golf and tennis.

Two of the Six Pillars of Character in the Alabama 4-H Sport Ethics document set the stage for developing sportsmanship & character; Respect and Responsibility. Interscholastic athletic program administrators and coaches could make use of these topics by discussing them with coaches and athletes in a leadership round-table held once a month. If coaches and athletes would consider these suggestions in developing expectations, it would present a clear model for spectators. As with any expected behavior - it must become routine through practice. Demonstrate and incorporate these actions in practice on a regular basis.

Respect and responsibility are only two of the Six Pillars of Character. A person of good character is deemed to be trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and a good citizen. These are principles established at the Arizona Sports Summit Accord, and are based on the Olympic philosophy.

School districts have an opportunity to set the tone for everyone in the community who is involved with the school in any way. Building sportsmanship and character through interscholastic athletics requires a dedicated Principal and AD who demonstrate appropriate behaviors and hold coaches accountable for teaching appropriate behaviors to student-athletes, assistant coaches, students, faculty, and community. The school athletic program expected behaviors can be a model for positive behaviors that can influence an entire community. Coaches should hold student-athletes to carry their expected behaviors wherever they go.

Athletic programs and coaches can be powerful influences for either the positive or negative, based on the philosophy promoted by the school administration, faculty, coaches, and media. Every athletic event and method of communication can send a powerful message to the public about your philosophy and expectations for behaviors of people while in the presence of students or at school related functions.

Develop your mission along with a positive logo and slogan that delivers what the school stands for. Put it on T-shirts, or above doorways on banners. Have it on the walls as you enter the school. Your message to every student in the school should tell them they are important and unique in their contributions to the school environment. Every student in the school would benefit from volunteering to help in the community some way each term. The leadership hours can also be a requirement for graduation. Preparing our students and student-athletes is part of our job in preparing them to be responsible in the world and give - without expecting something in return.

Golf and Tennis Have Ethical Expectations: All Sports Can Adopt This Practice

By Dusty Oates

Throughout an individual's learning years, parents attempt to instill a sense of right and wrong in their child's development. Children are taught acceptable behaviors at home and when they are "out in public." Parents seek to nurture a child's understanding of correct and incorrect responses as part of the learning process. Character development many times is the result of a child following and mimicking the actions of their parents and extended family. How a child progresses in his or her understanding depends on the consistent messages and lessons the parent presents on a daily basis.

How can coaches and athletic administrators instill positive character traits and appropriate behavior expectations in their athletes? How can athletic leaders mold their athletes to exhibit sportsmanship qualities in and around the playing fields and athletic arenas? The NCAA, in conjunction with many athletic conferences, routinely has sportsmanship initiatives where competing teams shake hands prior to contests. Teams from all sports and age groups routinely shake hands after games. Is this enough, or are athletes and coaches just going through the motions?

Character

An athletic administrator has a multi-functional job. The administrator has to see to the day-to-day operations of his or her department and educate the department's coaches in regulations governing their sport. Whether the competition is at the collegiate or high school level, colleges and school athletics are governed by both national and state associations. Upon alignment with governing organizations, members agree to abide by and follow established rules and regulations for competition and administration. Complete compliance is rarely attainable. When compliance comes into question, the athletic administrator must act. The administrator's character beliefs and practices come to the forefront.

Coaches routinely undergo rules and regulations training for their sport. Often what seems to be an innocent incident can be in conflict with governing regulations. As an administrator, you have to be knowledgeable on acceptable and unacceptable actions.

A high school athletic administrator is made aware of the coaches, of one of his or her teams, conducting an instructional session the previous afternoon for the new middle school staff and returning players. The instructional session took place the week prior to allowable practice dates. Several of your returning athletes were used as examples and instructors for the middle school athletes.

This seems innocent, and an example of good relations between high school and middle school staffs. It provides a community service opportunity for high school athletes. It gives the athletes a chance to give back what has been taught to them. However, is this within your governing body's regulations or a violation of policy? If it is a violation, what are the consequences for your school, coaches, and athletes?

As an athletic administrator, you have a choice. Do you pass this off as a good experience for all without investigating the legality? Do you establish legality and if not, report your school to your athletic association for violation of policy? If no other school witnessed the event, would anyone know? The administrator's character comes to the forefront. After investigation, the instructional session results in an illegal practice. It occurred prior to established practice dates and involved current high school athletes and middle school athletes deemed "feeder school" athletes for your program.

As athletic administrator, do you self-report your school, or tell your coaching staff to not conduct future instructional clinics outside of established dates without reporting the violation to your governing body? Do you let the clinic go on for several more days and ignore? As administrator, you know the possible sanctions the governing body can place on your team and school. What is right and what is wrong?

The PGA Tour is a unique organization. It relies heavily on its players to police play in tournaments, even though there are 'rules' officials for each tournament. On many occasions you will see a player call a penalty when an infraction of the rules was seen only by the individual. When asked why the penalty was brought to the attention of rules officials, the answer often is because the player knew of the infraction and the integrity of the Tour demanded they reveal it. Athletic administrators and coaches should follow this example.

In the above example, possible sanctions could include declared ineligibility of all participating players, sanctions to the team involving potential loss of playoff participation, monetary fines for the school, or a combination of all. As athletic administrator, are you willing to accept the sanctions placed on your team or school and attempt to correct the infractions? Are you willing to endure the unhappiness of your coaches due to their disbelief that they did anything wrong? Are you going to ignore and forget? The choice is yours. Your character and integrity comes into question.

Sportsmanship

How do coaches instill sportsmanship in their players? How do coaches relate appropriate and inappropriate behavior in their athletes? Players often follow their coach's lead. Emotions run high. The desire to excel and win the contest is intoxicating. Spectators voice their approval and disapproval to both play and officiating. The heat of the moment can be confusing.

Your school is hosting a state semi-final contest. The game frenzy within the school and community is magnified. The media touts the game as an epic between the two schools. Your team is undefeated on the season. There has been talk in the community and the media all year of the expectation of state final participation. You have multiple Division 1 collegiate athletes on your team.

Your opponent is also undefeated and equally talented. Game day arrives with all the expected energy and hype. The stadium is filled to capacity. The game goes back and forth and is an epic struggle. Officials make unbelievable calls for and against both teams. In the waning minutes, your team is stopped short of scoring on a questionable call by the officials. The game ends, your team suffers defeat by a slim margin, your team and community's hopes of a state final dashed. Your opponent's team and spectators are in a delirious frenzy. How do you want your athletes to respond?

Many times, losing teams are witnessed in verbal confrontations with opposing players. They throw equipment. They lay sobbing on the courts and fields. They walk off in disbelief without acknowledging the opposing team. The scene can get ugly and escalate into physical confrontations. Winning team members are often seen taunting players from the opposing team upon completion of the game. Players have to be physically restrained by coaches from both sides. Unsecured spectator sections enter the fray, increasing the hostile environment. No reputable coach wants their team to be involved in a situation of this nature. How can it be prevented?

Coaches must practice and instill sportsmanship characteristics and thoughts in their players on a daily basis. No coach in America will take practice time to "walk through" situations where sportsmanship should be exhibited prior to a big game. Daily instruction on how to conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner is a must for athletes, young and old. Coaches need to reacquaint themselves and their players with standards of conduct before, during, and after contests. Coaches must model behavior for their athletes to emulate. Behavioral expectations should be constantly stressed. Athletes need to be reminded by their coach that the sport is larger than the individual, and a respect for the game is a necessity. A failure in respect diminishes the enjoyment value of both participants and spectators. In sport, we are taught to overcome adversity and work for the common good. Winning and losing with dignity is a valuable component in lessons learned through sport.

How do coaches and athletic administrators build and exhibit character and sportsmanship in themselves and their players? The foundation for both is character. Base your program on honesty and integrity. In his book, Leading with the Heart, Mike Krzyzewski describes integrity as "nothing more than doing the right thing no matter who's watching you."

Coaches and administrators should always do the right thing and model sportsmanship to their players; not just when people are watching. Learning is continual. Players are the canvas upon which their actions paint a clear picture of what their school, program, and coaches stand for.

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