Although some pre-game traditions have come under scrutiny in recent years, there is still no better time to set the tone for good sportsmanship in youth sports than in the minutes before kickoff.
The challenge, however, is to make this activity more engaging than a half-hearted cheer. Making pre-game acts of sportsmanship mandatory often diminishes genuine actions to something done just to appease parents and officials.
Re-thinking the Pre-Game Greeting
While post-game handshake lines are a staple in most sports, having the entire teams greet each other prior to the game is less common, but perhaps more effective.
A pre-game greeting helps put names to faces and shows your athletes the other team is made up of kids just like them, rather than being some nameless ‘enemy.’ Even better is providing time for athletes from both teams to meet, chat, and goof off together for a few minutes before adults issue any formal statements of sportsmanship.
An easy way to accomplish this might be to have the athletes stand in an alternating fashion (as opposed to being divided by team) a few minutes before the national anthem plays and during any other pre-game announcements.
As a coach, shaking hands and chatting with the officials and opposing coaches is also important for setting a good example for your team. Some coaches go so far as to have their players greet and thank officials and opposing coaches prior to the game. Not only does this encourage sportsmanship, it also helps younger athletes practice the components of a respectful greeting, including eye contact, a few polite words, and a firm handshake.
Announcements
Many schools sports associations make a customary public address announcement about sportsmanship prior to a game.
Cross-Sport Sportsmanship
This should not only be encouraged between opposing teams, but also between athletes from different sports within the same school. Pairing up teams that have parallel seasons and having them support each other with pre-game activities (such as forming a rugby tunnel) and then staying to act as a cheering section can help create a connection between athletes that might not otherwise interact or publically support one another.
While getting an entire team to attend every home game is likely impossible due to other sports, school, and life obligations, assigning a few team ‘ambassadors’ to each game can still provide some consistent representation. It could also be something done on a volunteer basis, with a prize of some sort going to those who went out and supported their classmates the most.
Sportsmanship and Huddles
Some youth sports programmes like Rugbytots, do a pre-game warmup often including scary faces, make pretend monster parents and tots that have become wild animals!
Pre-Pre-Game Sportsmanship
Many admire sport’s ability to reveal a person’s true character and the ways they respond to adversity. But, the foundation of character isn’t only formed during pre-game warm-up or even in the locker room; it develops and grows at home, in school, and throughout everyday life.
Thinking of sportsmanship as something you can only teach in the context of sports is a quick way to deaden the message. Sportsmanship is learned inside and sports as a parent or coach, the way you treat other people and your attitude when things don’t go your way are ultimately going to have a bigger impact on your athletes than any pre-game speech, no matter how friendly you are to officials and the opposing team’s coach.
In order for young athletes to keep sportsmanship top of mind during the action and excitement of competition, the message needs to be reinforced frequently, consistently, and in a variety of ways. Pre-game sportsmanship activities are a great way to make the message of sportsmanship more engaging and to set the right tone for the competition ahead.
This entry was posted on 15th March 2020.