Reaching the Sportsmanship Summit
January 7, 2013
Didn't make it to one of the MHSAA's Sportsmanship Summits this fall? Check out this video review of what you missed, including a preview of this winter's Battle of the Fans II competition.
The MHSAA conducted student summits in Lansing, Warren, Gaylord and Kalamazoo. With assistance from its Student Advisory Council, MHSAA staff and administrators from all over the state explained how students can set the tone of good sportsmanship – and then presented effective ways of doing so, including taking part in the Battle of the Fans.
The deadline for student-submitted #BOTF applications is Saturday. Click for more information on the contest.
“How” Matters More
March 4, 2014
“It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.” We’ve all heard that bromide, especially when we were just starting out as young athletes.
Well, it does matter who wins. Any time a score is kept, the result of the competition matters to people. And there is very much that is very good about trying to win – giving one’s best effort to prepare for and execute a victory. Trying to win is much better than not trying to win. Sloppy effort does not benefit the participants, or anybody else for that matter.
And this unveils the deeper truth of that tiresome platitude: how you play the game is more important than who wins the game.
One of many events that proves this point to me is a football game played late in the season nearly two decades ago. A team from the east side of our state played against a team from the west side. I don’t remember the final score. I don’t remember which team won the game. But I do remember that there was an ugly incident at the end of the game.
How that game was played in its closing moments has stayed with me for longer than who was victorious.