Championship Sportsmanship

Today's blog post was written by Louis Nix for the Social Foundations of Coaching class taught by Play Like a Champion co-directors Professor Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan. Louis is a senior majoring in Film, Television, and Theater and a nose guard on the Notre Dame Football team.

When my professor suggested I do a blog about the recent men's soccer National Championship game, I had some initial reservations about the matter. First of all, I admittedly did not watch the game. Secondly, I am not a soccer junkie, so my knowledge of all the technicalities of the game is hazy at best.

Photo Credit: Zach Llorens, The Observer

 

Before I looked into what actually happened, I had heard that a Maryland player admitted to a hand ball after the game. My initial thought: "Oh, how noble of you, admitting to the penalty after the fact." I then began debating (in my head) about if it we can really consider it good sportsmanship to admit to a mistake after the game has ended, when the mistake can no longer be corrected or made right.

 

However, I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself, so I read the write-up about the game that appeared in the Notre Dame Observer. When I read the Maryland player’s admission to his mistake, I immediately revoked my initial opinion about him not being a good sportsman. He committed a hand ball that ended up in a goal for his team, but after the game he said he is so embarrassed about what he did and he will regret it for the rest of his life. One of the reasons I changed my initial judgment about his “confession” is that he was so genuine. No one forced him to admit to the hand ball—he did it purely because he loves the sport so much that committing such a penalty clearly affects him very deeply. It also got me to thinking that human judgment (and by extension, human error) is a part of the game—he committed a penalty, but the refs did not see it so no penalty was called. It seems that even if he had admitted to his mistake during the game, it is unlikely that anything would have been overturned or changed.

Photo Credit: Zach Llorens, the Observer

 

At the end of the day, I was impressed with the conduct of this young man from Maryland, as well as his coach. I think they conducted themselves as class acts, and it is good to hear about coaches and players being gracious and respectable human beings, even when they lose. I admire this player from Maryland and respect his love for the game he plays. If I could reach out to him, I would want him to know that he should not be too hard on himself—the penalty he committed was not the only uncalled penalty in the game, but beyond that he will not be defined by a mistake he made in the heat of the moment. Everyone who has ever played a sport has done things in the heat of the moment that don’t necessarily reflect who they are as a person or as a player. It is the nature of sports that mistakes will be made (both by players and referees), but I think a true sportsman is defined by what he does when a mistake happens. This young man from Maryland readily admitted to and apologized for his mistake—that alone, in my opinion, shows what kind of person and player he is. I think he deserves the utmost respect for his actions after the game, and I hope he is not too hard on himself in the future for something he did in the heat of the moment of a game that he clearly loves.

JEREMY LIN – A Lesson in Hard Work, Humility, and Persistence

Today's blog post was written by Kyle Smith, a Master of Science in Business candidate and an intern with Play Like a Champion Today.

The more I read about Jeremy Lin, the more I am impressed. Lin has one of the more remarkable success stories in recent memory. It is truly Hollywood-caliber stuff; rags to riches at its finest. Within a few weeks in early 2012, Lin’s whole life was turned upside down as ‘Linsanity’ swept the globe.

But it’s not Lin’s success on the court that is so impressive; it’s his character off of it. Lin embodies many of the virtues that Play Like A Champion Today challenges its coaches and athletes to work toward. Lin is extremely hard working, humble, and has a genuine passion for the game. He also is an intensely religious individual who isn’t shy about sharing his faith.

Lin’s success story highlights the importance of striving for your personal best and developing a strong work ethic. Athletes can learn a valuable lesson from Lin who has described his commitment to always giving his best: “There’s a certain feeling of accomplishment that you get when you’re just completely out of energy, bent over gasping for air, knowing that you gave your best effort.” In a YouTube video on his channel, Lin tells a young, aspiring basketball player, “Just remember to keep getting better every day.” 

Lin has made a point to do just that by putting in the necessary work off the court in order to improve his performances on it. 

The Spirit of Sportsmanship

Today's blog was written by Allison DeLuna, a manager on the Notre Dame Softball team and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching class taught by Play Like a Champion Today co-founders Kristin Sheehan and Professor Clark Power. 

I can understand the emotions that come from getting a homerun for the first time, the excitement you feel for you and your team. This particular scenario was a little different than most homeruns and could have ended in a two run single.  Sara Tucholsky from Western Oregon had her first homerun ever and forgot to touch first base in the excitement.  She turned to touch first and in that instance, tore her ACL instead.  The rule is that her teammates and coaches are not allowed to touch her or else her homerun would not have counted.  As an alternative, two of her opponents willingly carried her around the bases because her teammates could not.

I believe that this situation was handled with amazing integrity by Mallory Holtman from Central Washington. She and a teammate picked an injured Tucholsky up and carried her around the bases even though they knew it would hurt their chances in the game. The reason they gave for doing so was simple: she deserved it. A selfless and simple act that ultimately cost Central Washington the game and the Conference Championship (4-2).

Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace of Central Washington carry Sara Tucholsky "home."

I love everything about the game of softball and this supreme act of kindness made me love it even more.  As a softball player, I can relate to both teams, Central Washington and Western Oregon.   When I first read about this story and saw the clip from this inspiring softball game I was so completely moved. It has been a long time since a sportsmanship story like this has made this big an impact on me.  Character and selflessness is something that players can strive to do, and they could take a page out of these players handbooks.

The Idea of Sportsmanship: What Mandela Can Teach Us

Today's blog was written by Play Like a Champion Today founder Professor Clark Power and was originally published in the Huffington Post.

 

Nelson Mandela, who brought together a country torn by years of racial strife and resentment, believed that sports had the power to change the world. His lofty vision of sports as means of unity contrasts with the ugly brawl that erupted during the second quarter of this year's Ohio State versus Michigan football game. Three players were ejected for throwing punches. One of them, Ohio State guard Marcus Hall, threw a tantrum as he left the field--throwing his helmet, kicking the bench, and then gave the Michigan fans both middle fingers before leaving the field. There was some speculation following the incident that Hall might be suspended for the Michigan State game, Ohio State's final hurdle before playing for the BCS national championship. After an investigation, the Big Ten issued a public reprimand to Hall for his obscene gesture and to the Ohio State coaching staff for failing properly escort Hall off the field. No suspensions were leveled--assuring that Ohio State will be at full strength for its final match up.

 

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg complained that the Big Ten was more concerned about promoting its marquee programs then standing up for sportsmanship:

The league had an opportunity to do more and show that behavior like Saturday's ... is unacceptable and has long-term consequences. Monday's wimpy response will be seen as an effort to protect the league's title game and one of its biggest brands in Ohio State.

Detroit Free Press's Jeff Seidel went further criticizing the Big Ten for "flipping off the idea of sportsmanship" for not suspending Hall.

I agree with Rittenberg and Seidel; the Big Ten should have responded more forcefully to this flagrant breach of sportsmanship. On the other hand, what would further penalties accomplish? Would they have deepened respect for sportsmanship among the Michigan and Ohio State players and college football programs more generally? Would they have led to soul-searching about the educational value of collegiate athletics in the first place? Educational psychologists know that punishments are the least effective way of teaching anything. Punishments do not inspire or lead to reflection.

At the very least, we should expect collegiate athletic programs to commit themselves to teaching and exemplifying the best sports have to offer. Three days ago Notre Dame's Play Like a Champion Today sports education program hosted a webinar led P. R. Smith, the founder of the Great Sportsmanship Program. Smith collects stories of sportsmanship, which he shares through his website and then challenges us all to add to list. He reminded webinar participants that that the media pays too much attention to breaches of sportsmanship rather than to the everyday miracles of kindness and generosity that are part of the very fabric of sports.

Nelson Mandela believed that sports can promote peace and human harmony by appealing to the wellsprings of respect and love in the human soul:

Sport .... has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.

 

College athletic programs would do well to engage their athletes in periodic reflection and discussion of the values of fairness, respect, and love itself that make sports so powerful and transformative.

When Things Don’t Go Your Way

Today's blog was written by Emma Dashut a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Today co-directors Professor Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan.

 

 

Alabama suffered a tough loss this past week. Being the number one ranked team they did not expect to lose to the number 4 ranked team, especially on such a rare last minute field goal return.

 

 

Auburn gets all the glory going forward, but where does that leave the Crimson Tide? Dealing with a loss is one of the most important aspects of sports.  In order for Alabama to have future success they have to be able to put this loss behind them and move forward. This is the true test of good coaches and good leaders.

 

 

Will the team be able to pull together and recover? This will depend on the actions of the coaches and captains. They can only focus on the past long enough to learn from their mistakes, but if they linger on it too long they may hurt team morale. No one played perfectly, and coaches need to refrain from placing blame on any one player or group of players. Football is a team sport; win as a team or lose as a team. The Bama coaches need to emphasize this as the team prepares for the future opponents. Pulling together in support of one another after the loss will get them much further than negativity will. Dealing with losing is an important lesson for coaches to teach young athletes. It is okay to be angry, but not to be a sore loser. No one wants a sore loser bringing the whole team down. Athletes need to learn to accept defeat when they are young so they are able to do it when they are older.  I hope the players of the Crimson Tide were taught how to handle a loss.

 

 

For Love of the Game

Today's blog post was written by David Thornton, a senior business major and a member of the Notre Dame Track and Field Team.  David is a student in Social Foundations of Coaching, a course taught by Play Like a Champion Today co-founders Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan.

Recently, professional athletes have filled the sports world with negative news stories dealing with bullying, unhappy free agents asking for more and more money, and criminal actions off the field. Being an athlete myself, I have to ask what the heck is going on? Have we all lost sight of why we play the games we do? Growing up, my father showed my brothers and I a great movie called For Love of the Game. It starred Kevin Costner and it followed him through the different stages of his professional baseball career. Ultimately, it’s a love story; a love story about him and the two loves of his life – Kelly Preston (the actress in the movie) and baseball. My father always taught us to never lose sight of the fact that the sports we play are just games, and that it’s crucial to never lose sight of that fact. You must love what you do. 

Now you may be wondering where in the world I’m going with this story, but I assure you that I do have a point. Kevin Costner deals with a lot of ups and downs throughout the movie and at times it seems as though he may never play the game that he loves again. However, he perseveres and in the end pitches the game of his life that proves that the game you love can love you back. In a similar way, current Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has dealt with many challenges throughout his life and career and has found a way to recover and become the idealized version of what a coach should be. 

Clint Hurdle had a rough professional baseball career as a player, and through different life events became an alcoholic. He would end up having only a one season of note - batting .294 for the 1980 American League champion Royals, then going 5-for-12 in the World Series, but, other than that, he became known mostly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He played for the Mets in 1985, one year before they won the World Series, and was then picked up by the Cardinals in 1986, one year after St. Louis reached the World Series. He was then traded back to the Mets in 1987, the same year the Cardinals returned to the World Series. 

He was always a year late or a dollar short, he even spent the 1981 players' strike bartending, and his career batting average through 10 seasons was a middling .259 to go with 32 home runs and two divorces. 

He turned his life around, bit by bit, but the first step was going to manage in the minor leagues. Hurdle was quoted in a recent conversation, "These are the questions a 17-year-old going to pro ball has about their manager," Hurdle says. "'Can I trust him? Does he trust me? Can he make me better? Does he care about me?' My goal was to get those questions answered under my watch. Because then their skill set will come out. They won't let you coach 'em up until they trust you." That is exactly what we have been learning in class and Hurdle has been putting this into practice. There must be a mutual trust and connection between players and coaches. Hurdle’s players ran through walls, not stop signs at third base for him. He would act macho with the snide players and thoughtful with the sensitive ones. He coached the mind as much as he coached baseball.

He went to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and did his best to get his life back together. He began sending daily emails to his players and staff with motivational quotes and sayings that acted as a daily reminder that he was there for them and that they were in this thing together – as a team. People begin to deeply appreciate these emails, and to-date over 1000 people see Hurdle’s emails daily due to the widespread sharing of them. An example of one of these emails: 

These were simple messages, but they had an overwhelming power and effect on Hurdle’s players and staff.

In an era of sports where the game is no longer loved for its true meaning and purpose, Clint Hurdle has attempted to find the happiness in the game of baseball and spread it to everyone around him. He believes in his players, and his players believe in him. There is a trust there that cannot be put into words, and that is the true purpose of being a coach. Clint Hurdle is molding his players into better people by taking the negative experiences from his life and learning from them. There is a reason that the Pittsburgh Pirates had there best season in my lifetime this past year, and that reason is Clint Hurdle. Don’t be surprised if you see a World Series title go to the city of Pittsburgh in the next few years. If you stick it out long enough, give 100% of your body and mind, and truly believe in the game you love, the game can love you back.