Seahawks get tips on employing sportsmanship values
MILTON, Mass. - Salve Regina coaches and administrators joined their colleagues from fellow Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) institutions for an enlightening presentation on the practice of sportsmanship. Commissioner Gregg Kaye greeted the audience gathered at one of its 10 member schools (Curry College) and welcomed national expert, Chuck Mitrano, who speaks across the country on the topics of sportsmanship, ethics, and leadership.
Mitrano, who also serves as the commissioner of the Empire 8 conference - a Division III league of upstate New York schools, emphasized three phases of implementing sportsmanship:
- Education
- Policy
- Enforcement
Mitrano praised the coaches for choosing a profession that comes with an awesome responsibility. "When a team, or its players, acts inappropriately that is the responsiblity of the coach. The coach has control over his or her team and its behavior is a reflection of that coach. The discipline needs to start in practice."
He was named one of the “100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America” by the Institute of International Sport in November 2007. The Empire 8 was also the first athletics conference in any division or level to be named an “All-American Sportsmanship Conference” by that organization.
The new president of the Division III Commissioners Association, Mitrano quoted from Michael Josephson's commentary "The Disease of Low Expectations" while also correlating many of today's problems in business, politics, and the economy with the actions or inactions of those who have sacrificed integrity for a short-term win.
"When I have asked teams to list three things, three important values, inevitably I am reading words like 'honesty, loyalty, sportsmanship' and then I tell them to include those values in their goals. Too often, teams limit themselves to outcome-oriented goals and ignore process-oriented goals."
"I believe that coaches can be the primary agents for sportsmanship on their teams. By shouting and throwing up their arms when a call doesn't go their way, they are modeling poor behavior toward officials. They are sending the wrong message about problem-solving to their players."
In an effort to educate and train the leaders on its respective teams, the Commonwealth Coast Conference will have Mitrano return for a presentation with fall-sport student-athletes during a session at Endicott College on August 28.
"With our fall teams in the middle of pre-season activities this is a great opportunity to share this important message," said Salve Regina director of athletics Colin Sullivan. The Seahawks had coaches from its CCC sports in addition to football (NEFC) and men's and women's ice hockey (ECAC) on hand for today's presentation.
