Sportsmanship

Hello All,

It has been so busy with softball this last month that I have failed to provide a new blog until now. This post I would like to talk about sportsmanship and what it means. We all have different meanings I'm sure of the word sportsmanship but to me as a coach, it  is comprised of 2 concepts, fair play and character. To me fair play is having a chance to win in an honest way when opponents do not play fair and to have respect for others like teammates, opponents, and officials. Now character will refer to the way we respond to the opportunities presented to us during the game as well as our fears and failures. Such a simple gesture of character would be helping an opponent up or shaking hands after the game.
As a coach, I have witnessed a true example of both concepts and to me what true sportsmanship means. We were playing a team one Saturday afternoon and there were runners on 1st and 2nd and the batter hits the ball and as soon as she hit it, I thought it was over the fence based on the sound off the bat but from where I was standing it looked like it hit the top of the fence and fell back onto the playing field. The umpire must have seen what I saw because he didn't signal homerun and we grabbed the ball and threw it to 2nd base. Once the umpire called time, all of a sudden you see our centerfielder going to the umpire and saying it was a homerun. It HAD cleared the fence and hit a sign behind the fence and came back into the field of play. That was a true sign of sportsmanship and one that as a coach you have to be extremely proud of your player. This young lady did what was right and fair.
We are reminded in those situations that once the game is over and no matter what the score is of the game, that our self-worth remains the same and that once again, softball is teaching a life lesson for us to carry within for the rest of our lives.
Until next time . . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!!!