Building character with athletics

                                                      Character in Sports

       I have followed various stories in the press, about  School Sports Teams, at various levels, with a growing sense of unease. What exactly are we trying to teach our young with their involvement in athletics? Is it that winning is everything?

       In my younger years, I was an athlete of middling abilities. Through the patience of decent Phys. Ed. Teachers and understanding coaches, I was able to participate in track, baseball, football and a variety of other sports. These fine teachers taught me the value of teamwork, effort and striving to be the best that I could be. I came to value the many lessons that I learned in the process. I utilized them many times, in the political arena, where the pressure to "win at any cost" often presents itself. I like to think that I always did the right thing, even if it might cost me the game.

        I remember one incident that defined, for me, what the true spirit of athletics is really all about. We were playing a difficult opponent in a little league, Pop-Warner, football league. The game meant a lot to us and to our coach, who was a former scout for a big-league ball team. One of our linemen, Tommy, wasn't blessed with much ability. But, like "Rudy" in the film of that name, he had a lot of heart. He practiced with us nightly and rode the bench with grace and good humor.    

       For this game, Tommy's Dad had driven the ninety miles from Buffalo, N.Y. to see his son play. The Coach, noticing Tom's Dad, put Tommy in for two entire quarters. This was more than he had ever played. Many of the parents, on the sidelines, complained about the need to use our best players to win. So too did several of the team. They thought that Tommy should ride the bench. But the Coach, observing the beaming smile on the face of Tom's Dad, stuck to his decision and let Tommy play. In his Father's eyes, Tommy was an Olympic Champion for those two brief quarters.

       I don't remember if we won or lost that game. But I do remember that Tommy's Dad died later that summer and we all began to appreciate the import of the Coach's actions. He had taught us more about decency, honor and the dignity of the human spirit, in his actions that day, than we would ever learn from a lifetime of reading books. I will remember the coach always, as someone who taught me that winning is a lot more about how you play the game, than the final outcome.

           Maybe we should be paying a little more attention to what the kids are learning from Athletics, than how successful a season they are having. They have enough pressures on them already.

                                                                    -30-

                                                              (479 words)

                                                        Joseph Xavier Martin