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.