Sport as Play

Today's blog entry was written by Anna VanEgmond, a senior sociology major, member of the Notre Dame Rowing team, and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching Class at the University of Notre Dame.

When sport acts as play, it has the ability to uplift the body, mind, and spirit.  Throughout the Social Foundations of Coaching course, we have discussed the coaches’ role in creating an environment that nurtures this sense of inner freedom and joy for kids.  This freedom and joy in sport in turn allows children to grow and develop as champions and athletes of character.

Many a times in this process, we easily recognize how a healthy body and sense of the spiritual are key elements to performance in and enjoyment of sports.  However, we often neglect the holistic picture, with the need for a healthy and clear mind as well.  As a youth minister, it is important to mentor children through sport, so that they can grow as a whole person, spirit, body and mind.  As a college athlete, I find it encouraging that the NCAA is finally realizing this as well.  Although many colleges might not address the spirit as it crosses the boundaries of religion, I think here at Notre Dame, where spirit is a factor, it will be interesting to see if there are changes in a student-athlete’s perception of what it means to “Play Like a Champion Today.”  I believe this new approach may have the ability to shift the focus of students and coaches to the development of the whole person through sport.  For more information on the NCAA's actions on mental health of student-athletes check out this link .

Is the Goal to Have Fun or Humiliate?

Today's blog entry was written by Andrew Brock, a senior Accounting major in the Social Foundations of Coaching course this semester.  Andrew is a member of the Notre Dame Track and Field team, competing in the shot put and weight throw.

This past weekend a news article came out about a Texas high school under scrutiny for “bullying” another high school after beating them 91-0 in a football contest. This seems ridiculous in a high school game, doesn’t it? However, in the realm of college football, it’s almost a weekly occurrence for some teams and there is never a word mentioned about it in the press. Alabama has won all of their games, with the exception of one, by more than 25 points this season - their biggest mark of victory resulting against Arkansas with a score of 52-0. Baylor won a game this year 71-7 against Iowa State. Oregon, another team that historically puts up a lot of points against its opponents, has won each of their games by an average of about 40 points this season. In fact, when it comes to college football, blowing one’s opponent out actually tends to receive positive press for the most part, while the Texas high school team was being scrutinized for it in the national media.

This story seemed to be featured on just about every network last week.

Has the goal of competition in college and now even high school football become to have fun or to humiliate? It appears that in a world of votes, media, millions of dollars, and rankings that the point is to humiliate.   At least the teams that are blowing their opponents out each week are having a lot of fun in the process. Now, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the teams that our losing by 40, 50, 91 points… Do you think that they are having fun?

According to Play like a Champion's GROW model, sports are played for the purpose of having FUN! In fact, it is only at the end of the GROW model that we see the word "winning" and this is not a coincidence. Coaches who disrespect their opponents by blowing them out and humiliating them in front of all their fans are not abiding by the GROW model. Winning is an outcome of the game. There has to be one winner and one loser--that is the way the game works. With this in mind, we should remember that competition should and can be fun, win or lose. Success in competition is found in putting ones best effort on the field, court, track, diamond, etc.  When winning becomes more important than the outcome of the game, true competition is lost. Athletes compete and coaches coach for the love of the game. Why should we crush someone else’s love by humiliating them during competition?

Therefore, when our only goal of a competition is to win and destroy all who stand in the way of us winning, we have lost our love of the game. We have become too caught up in the outcomes and have lost sight of the intrinsic reasons of why we started playing the game in the first place. We all began playing for the love of the game. Consequently, out of our love for the game we should practice good sportsmanship and respect our opponents by not humiliating them. The real joy of sports comes from the competition itself, not from the outcome.

Team Spirit Team Service

The University of Notre Dame is on fall break this week.  Campus is quiet, and many students have gone home for the week, missing the first snow of the season.  Most student-athletes, however, have stayed on campus as practices and games continue.  As there are no classes this week, several teams have taken some time to serve the community.

On Monday, the Notre Dame Football team had spent the evening at South Bend's Center for the Homeless. In an event that was spearheaded by tight-end Troy Niklas, the players were able to spend a few hours with the guests, having dinner and getting to know the guests at the Center.  As Niklas said at the end of the event "“I hate to say it, but we’ve almost gotten more out of this than (the guests). Sometimes you don’t know how much you have until you see someone who doesn’t have anything. Being here at Notre Dame, we’re so blessed".  Over dinner, the football players and the guests exchanged stories--and inspiration.  As part of the team's preparation for the evening, the players committed to fundraising $2000 to give to the Center, a goal which they surpassed when Niklas presented Steve Camilleri with a gift of $4700.  

Troy Niklas talks to a young guest at the Center for the Homeless

The Notre Dame Women's Soccer Team plays its final home game of the season this evening, and will be auctioning off jerseys as a fundraiser for the SEGway Project, a non-profit founded by a former Notre Dame soccer player that uses soccer to empower girls worldwide.  Proceed's from Thursday's auction will be used by the Project at the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy in Kenya. The Men's Soccer Team also took some time this week to work with local children.  On Tuesday, members of the team spent a few hours with a local youth soccer club--with coaches and players leading drills, demonstrating skills, and mentoring the young athletes.  

Play Like a Champion Today teaches that a key to character development is the transformation of the team into a moral community whose members are committed to certain values e.g. caring, fairness, and trust.  By learning the virtues of community on a team, team members are then able to become leaders in larger communities later in life.  Community service done as a team is an excellent way to build a moral community and Play Like Champions.

When Is It Okay To Boo Your Own Player?

Today's blog entry was written by Amarpreet Rai, a junior science pre-professional student at the University of Notre Dame, and a member of the Social Foundations of Coaching Class.  Amarpreet is currently conducting research on the value of sport for urban youth.

Sometimes we take sports too far. As fans, we consider ourselves fully a part of a team. We think we know just as much as the players or even the coaches. And sometimes, we take this too far. We forget what our role is.

Let me explain. Sometimes fans think it’s acceptable to call for bodily harm or the benching of athletes, in college or professional sports. Two notable recent examples come to mind. The first is the hatred that Tommy Rees, the Notre Dame quarterback, has experienced both from the student section during games and through social media after. We forget that he’s a young adult on a public stage trying to do the best that he can. And as fans, instead of supporting him and making his job easier, we increase the pressure, making it harder for him (and for our team) to be successful. The second example is the booing of Matt Schaub, the HoustonTexans quarterback. Sure, he’s a little older and making money at what he’s doing. However, is it really acceptable to cheer when he suffers a game ending injury? For some reason, we do.

          An injured Matt Schaub on the sidelines                          Tommy Rees directs the Irish before his injury against USC

Play Like a Champion Today forces us to think about how we motivate athletes. It forces us to consider why athletes play the game. Negative motivation almost never seems to work. Constantly yelling at children neither inspires them to work harder nor does it help them learn faster. By booing Rees or Schaub, all we do is undermine their confidence in themselves. It does not matter if an individual is 8 or 28. Negative reinforcement from fans, coaches, or teammates does not work. What helps is a positive environment, fostering growth at all ages. 

As fans, we never like to see our team lose. Yet, when we boo, we make winning just a little harder for ourselves. So I ask again, when is it okay to boo your own player? The short answer: Never. 

"If you're a bully, you're not on my team."

Last night, I stayed up too late watching baseball.  I'll deal with the fatigue today, because it means that my beloved Boston Red Sox are in the ALCS, still contenders for the World Series Championship. While I could go on at length about Sunday night's game (and the game-tying grand slam from Big Papi in the 8th inning), I would instead like to focus on the off-field work of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the Red Sox catcher (whose bottom of the ninth base hit drove in the winning run.)  

October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and a few years back, Saltalamacchia, along with several athletes from Boston and across the country posted public service announcements against bullying, including Saints quarterback Drew Brees, featured above. As I watched the Red Sox pour out of the dugout at the end of the game to mob Salty as he rounded second, I thought back to the video.  Saltalamacchia is a popular figure in Boston these days, and the hope (as with all of these endorsements) is that his celebrity brings added credence to his message. The video features Salty addressing the camera stating: "If you're being a bully, you're not on my team." Boston vs. Bullies

Saltalamacchia goes on to say "Be a good teammate, help stop bullying." This message flows directly into Play Like a Champion's GROW model.  As a part of GROW, Play Like a Champion focuses on the Relationships on the team--between coaches and the student-athletes as well as between teammates.  PLC applies the  "family" model to a team, and this should apply equally to all members of the team.  Bullying either within the team or by team members should not be tolerated.                     

The Detroit Tigers, (who played very well this weekend against the Red Sox) have also been involved in the anti-bullying movement.  Detroit Tigers Strikeout Bullying included a letter from Tigers first-baseman Prince Fielder and several of his teammates talk about their own experiences being bullied, along with information on how to stop bullying. Tigers Strikeout Bullying

To learn more about what you can do to prevent bullying, or to find public service announcements from celebrities ranging from Drew Brees, President Obama, Anne Hathaway and (of course) Jarrod Saltalamacchia, these websites have more information: StompOutBullyingor Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center

Playing Until The Whistle

Today's blog entry was written by Paul Jones. Paul is a psychology student at Purdue North Central which is a regional campus of Purdue University. Paul is interning with Play Like A Champion this fall. Paul has a passion for sports and an eagerness to learn which makes him the perfect fit for our team. Paul was a key player in our Sports Leadership conference this June and during this semester, he is assisting with Play Like A Champion’s research, helping with our social media, leading several ongoing special projects and learning our curriculum of coach education. Paul is a “champion” to our program.

As an athlete you are told to play your hardest and play until you hear the whistle.  There is a difference between playing hard and playing dirty and intentionally injuring another player.  A prime example from this weekends collegiate football games is from October 3rd, when The University of Texas took on Iowa State University in a tight game where both teams played hard until the bitter end, and where both coaches objected to the officiating.

In the third quarter, Texas scored on a run from a couple of yards out, but after the play Texas was penalized 15 yards when wide receiver Mike Davis threw a low block on ISU defensive back, Deon Broomfield.  The play called for the wide receivers to block the defensive backs.  The replays clearly show the Texas back clearly crossing the goal line as other players from Texas signal and celebrate a touchdown.  As the celebration started, Broomfield slowed down, but that did not stop Davis from diving low into the knees of Broomfield. 

After the game, the defensive back, Broomfield, took to Twitter and said, "Mike Davis really tried to take me out." Davis responded on Twitter saying, "I play to the whistle ….. Sorry I was taught that."  Yes, it can get loud in a packed stadium, but regardless of the volume of the whistle, the play had clearly stopped and there is no need to attack a player when he is so far from the action of the game.  I am all for giving your all during the game and support the players who do so, but on a play like that, there is no need.  He wasn't playing to the whistle, he was putting another athlete at risk of serious injury. It was a good call by the officials, some are even calling for a harsher penalty, but the coach of Texas, Mack Brown, stood by his player and said, "He couldn’t hear (the whistle), There’s 70,000 people screaming their guts out."  He later said that he “thought it was competing.”  This is in a time where players are being penalized and suspended for "targeting" other players and this looked like he was targeting.  The Big 12 reprimanded Davis, but did not issue a suspension. The only punishment that can follow now would come from the Texas team itself. 

Here at Play Like A Champion Today, we teach building character through sports, and we expect the coaches to model good character as well.  It would have shown strength and character for Davis to admit that he was wrong. It would have shown good character to step up and say that he is not that kind of player and would play better next time. (Instead, he stated that in a similar situation, he would do the same thing again.)  It also would have displayed better character if Coach Brown had handled Davis's actions in a different manner.  At Play Like A Champion Today we work on winning the right way. When the final whistle blew last week, Texas won the game, but they did not win the right way.

The Dallas Morning News has more information on the game and the ensuing controversy here.

Utah Coach Suspends Team as a Character Lesson

Two weeks ago, a football coach in Utah did something that is rare in this age of high pressure high school athletics.  He suspended his entire team the week before homecoming. He didn’t suspend the team for any on-field issues (although the decision was announced following a loss.)  And he didn’t suspend the team for any academic failings or team-wide disciplinary issues (although both issues contributed to the decision.) Instead, Coach Matt Labrum of Union High School in Roosevelt, Utah suspended his team of boys to “create great men.”

In the process, Coach Labrum created a media firestorm, sparked a national conversation, and hopefully taught his team and community a valuable lesson on the importance of character.  The Union High School team had reportedly been having assorted academic and disciplinary issues for much of the season, but was disbanded for cyber-bullying committed by unknown team members.  After a post-game meeting on Friday night where the coaching staff announced the decision, the team met the next morning to  learn how to regain a spot on the team.  For the next few days, the team practiced, but instead of practicing pass routes and zone defense, the team practiced character.  To be eligible to play the next week, every player had to participate in community service projects, be in good academic standing, and have a signed note from a parent attesting to good behavior at home. While several players were initially upset by the temporary loss of football, the coach had the support of parents and school officials.  He also had the support of the team, as all but 9 of the 41 players suspended were reinstated on Wednesday afternoon.     

 In explaining his decision to the media, Coach Labrum said “Hey, we need to focus on some other things that are more important than winning a football game,”  and he’s right.    At Play Like a Champion Today, we are fortunate enough to work with coaches just like Matt Labrum.  These coaches want their teams to DO WELL on the field and to DO GOOD off the field. Like Coach Labrum, Coaches for Character want their teams “to be an asset” to their schools and communities.  Like the parents at Union High, parents involved in Play Like a Champion Today want their children to be more than good football players, they want their children to “to some good in the community.” And like the students at Union High, student athletes trained by Play Like a Champion Today now see that “It’s not all about football.” 

 Practicing character should not be a national news story.  Practicing character should not be done solely to earn a spot on a team or to impress a coach.  Play Like a Champion works to promote a positive sports culture for all young people, and we applaud Coach Labrum for the work he is doing in Utah, and wish his team luck for the rest of the season, and hope that the character lessons instilled last month will endure in the team’s memory long after the season has ended.

For more on the events in Utah, the Deseret News has provided excellent coverage: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587020/Taking-a-stand-Union-High-coach-suspends-entire-football-team-in-lesson-about-character.html?pg=all