New Meaning to Student-Teachers

Moments after one of the MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals in December, there was a familiar scene amidst the postgame chaos.

Two of the players hugged and exchanged the following dialogue:
“You’re awesome,” said the first.
“No you’re awesome,” argued the other.

It was a scene that’s been acted out repeatedly following championship games at every level.

Now, for the twist. The girls were not teammates. They were opponents. They had just spent the last couple of hours expending every bit of effort, skill and sweat they could muster against one another in the pursuit of victory.

Funny thing is, except for the uniforms, you couldn’t tell who had won.

And that’s the point.

Now, it would be naive to think that either person would have settled for a loss prior to tipoff, but perhaps more naive to think that each of these girls didn’t know going in that both teams could not win.

Whether the season ends in the first round of a tournament or in the championship game, it will eventually end. It’s how one conducts herself or himself when it’s all over that is the measurement of the lessons learned in school sports.

The whole conversation was less than five seconds, but spoke volumes about the character of each student – yes, student. These are students who happen to participate in athletics. That’s the way it must be in the MHSAA: if you are enrolled as a student in a member school, then you may also have the privilege to participate in athletics.

Clearly, these girls and other students like them around the state get it. They understand the value of fair competition, sportsmanship, preparation, teamwork and all the other positive life lessons that school sports has afforded them.

It’s a Small(er) World

To be fair, it should also be noted that the girls also knew one another before the big game last December.
It is unlikely that players from different areas of the state would have ever met one another before facing off in an MHSAA Final 20 years ago, but today’s world is much smaller due to the ease of travel and the deluge of information available via the media and the Internet.

They had met at various basketball camps, and had in fact e-mailed each other the morning of the championship game to wish each other luck and offer some good-natured ribbing.

Is there too much pressure placed on young kids to specialize in sports today? Absolutely.

Are anonymous chat rooms and recruiting Web sites out of control? Of course they are.

But, that’s the way it is, so today’s educators, coaches and parents need to be more tuned in to the trends, because the kids are way ahead.

Students need cooperation from school coaching staffs when they wish to participate in multiple sports, and in fact should be encouraged to do so.

They need to understand rules and regulations regarding out-of-season competition, training methods and substance abuse.

They need to understand accountability and responsibility, and as such, schools should become aware of Web sites that do not monitor their chat rooms and forums.

With proper supervision, such technological advancements are great. Today’s students have “met” more people at their age than most of their parents had by then.

Isn’t it odd that students are making friends at so-called rival schools, yet coaches within a school play tug-of-war with the students, their practice times and sports participation?

Isn’t it silly that parents sit in the stands and berate an official who could be the father of their son’s best friend, or harass an opposing team member whom their daughter e-mails on a nightly basis?

It is indeed a small world. Don’t be squeezed out; embrace it.

So students today don’t know what an eight-track tape is, don’t believe that people had to get off their couch to change the TV channel, and think belts exist to hold their phones rather than their pants.

That’s O.K.

They also know how to search for jobs online, submit college applications with the click of a button, and visit virtual libraries from their family rooms.

And, as they become increasingly familiar with athletic opponents across the state, they are beginning to realize only the uniform color is different.

Sometimes the teachers are the ones facing the front of the classroom.