Character counts
L
ooking around at society today, I’m beginning to wonder how hard it is just to be a good human being. We belittle and berate others for wearing a mask or not wearing a mask. We deride people if they are Democrats or Republicans. We are constantly looking for reasons to fight others, prove that we are right, and make sure to strongly voice our opinions that other people are stupid.
We are becoming all too comfortable with being horrible to our fellow man.
Newcastle Elementary School has a program called Character Counts which rewards students for behavior that exhibits character. This program teaches our young people that there is value in being good. Displaying
character means putting others first and taking the high road.
When it comes to high school sports, character plays a vital role. To that end, the Wyoming High School Activities Association started the R.I.D.E. campaign several years ago to encourage sportsmanship in high school sports. R stands for Respect, I for Integrity, D for Dedication and E for Encouragement.
Everyone knows there is much more to sports than finishing with a win. Obviously, doing your best to come out of each contest on top is what every team is striving for, and they should be. However, winning with grace is also a vital concept for young people to develop.
As I was perusing the girls and boys Wyoming basketball scoreboards a couple of weeks ago, I came across three games in which the losing teams finished with eight points or less while the winners each scored over 50.
I know that blowouts happen. I know that there are definite mismatches between teams and that’s just the way things go. I know that you can’t ask talented players and teams not to do their best, and I would never suggest that as an alternative.
However, I also have to believe that there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the humiliation those three losing teams inevitably felt at the end of each contest.
Are the starting five playing a majority of the game? Is the winning team being required to make a certain number of passes before attempting to score? Are they applying defensive pressure to the losing team long after it’s necessary? Are they taking advantage of every fast break opportunity?
Aside from just the yucky feeling a lopsided score like that elicits, I also wonder what anyone is truly gaining from a game like that.
These were obviously very mismatched teams, so what are the players on either squad learning as they play that contest? The winners are not improving their skill or knowledge of the game. The losers probably don’t have the ball long enough to better their play.
In my opinion, there is nothing beneficial to be taken from it, either from the perspective of the sport of basketball or from the perspective of life in general.
I would imagine that it can’t feel all that good to decimate another team that badly. I am pretty sure it would be embarrassing to have the state see the score of the game and having your team being attached to it.
And for the losing team, it has to be
demoralizing. These are kids from 14-18 years old, playing a game that they love only to be humiliated.
I understand that the winning teams may have attempted to stop the bleeding, and that they may not have had the option of sitting all the starters for a majority of the game given the restrictions on the number of quarters kids may play in a single night, but I still can’t help but feel bad for everyone involved.
As an athlete, coach and parent, I’ve been on both sides of this situation. I’ve been involved in losing miserably, looking at a running clock thinking that it was standing still, and longing to slink away to lick my wounds.
I’ve also been involved in dominating another team to the point where it wasn’t fun anymore.
Neither situation made me feel good, and I think that speaks volumes about life lessons we learn from sports. Those become so much more important than the record at the end of a season. Developing character is important and serves us well. I just think we all could use a little more of it.