The Impact of Sportsmanship

Many community members don’t realize how much impact local sports have on their community. How Longwood High School’s basketball team affected their school and community is not by ways in which most would think, yet they have played an integral role in bringing the community together as a whole. It is imperative to access what really makes a team have an impact on their community or school. Is it the fact that they are champions, have only the best coaches, or birthed an NBA player? Or is it the fact that a team has impacted their community because they are good for the overall betterment their community?

High school athletic administrators have made large adjustments in their coaching style and the expectations of their players in order to improve sportsmanship among student-athletes. Implementing everything from incentives and awards to ratings systems and suspensions, they have encouraged sportsmanship on and off the court. The biggest influence on the team is the coach, and Dennis Terry, Head Boys’ Coach at Longwood High School, and winner of the 2001 Sportsmanship Award presented by the NBA, WNBA, and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), has aided in the impact Longwood High School’s basketball team has made on the students, teachers, and community members of Middle Island, NY.

The community and schools of Middle Island, NY have come together as a result of a campaign fueled by the Longwood High School basketball team. By a most untraditional factor, they have created a sense of family that has united the district. In an effort to exhibit more sportsmanlike qualities they have inadvertently inspired the entire community and school to follow suit. Their acts have motivated so many others. Though their effort to increase sportsmanship was small in their eyes, they had no idea how huge of an effect it would have on the school and community as a whole.

As a result of the team’s efforts many of the students believe that peer to peer friendships have increased within the school. The grades of the players have also greatly increased, resulting in many of the players winning the Sports Award. The team averages a 3.75 GPA. Coach Terry has learned that “those who work hard in class, also seem to do so on the court.” 100% of Longwood High’s basketball players went to college last year. The campaign has also brought many faithful fans to the games. They want to support the team not only because of their stats but because they genuinely feel that the students are good people in need of support. Of course, the fact that they have been performing so well over the years also helps. Little did Coach Dennis Terry know that a simple effort to improve his team’s character would rouse so much unity among other groups also.

Coach Dennis Terry has perfected his coaching method by actively discussing the subject with his athletes, emphasizing complimenting each other, and promoting friendship off the court by slapping hands as they pass in the hall during school hours for example. “If they can learn to positively communicate with each other, they will also do it with teams they play against, since they already do it in practice.”

Most basketball coaches would agree that sportsmanship is an integral part of the game and that promoting sportsmanship begins with assessing how they conduct themselves. For example, maintaining composure at practice, in the locker-room, or on the sideline. Coach Terry believes that this includes watching his language. “I don’t curse, no matter how heated the situation gets,” Terry says. “You should be able to express yourself without cursing and if you have to stoop that low, there’s something wrong with you.” It is also the same view when it comes to the music they listen to, he continued. “I don’t allow them to play music with inappropriate language in the locker room or on the bus. I also go through our pre-game warm-up music to see if it’s clean before we’ll use it. I may be old-fashioned, but that’s the way I do things, and it works for me.”

Promoting good sportsmanship is not always easy in today’s sports entertainment world, given the numerous sports highlights featuring athletes fighting, trash-talking, and engaging in other unsportsmanlike acts. The influence this behavior has on younger basketball players is inarguably reflective of their style also. Despite one’s best efforts to build sportsmanship, these outside influences can negatively influence high school players, so another tool relied upon is a book full of inspirational stories and quotes, such as John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. “We want to make them think beyond shooting the ball, so we work through that book just as much as we go over the fundamentals in practice,” he says. “I would hate to think that a season’s success depends on the win-loss record, because you’re ultimately going to end with a loss unless you’re state champion.” It is important to improve the quality of these students as a whole. “Teams want to win because it’s more fun, but sportsmanship is a matter of behavior on and off the court and being a person people admire, appreciate, and want to be around.”

Coach Terry treats all of his athletes as role models. Though the team plays well, Coach Terry feels that how the players carry themselves has had a longer lasting impact on the school than their actual playing stats. Their behavior has improved the conduct of not only players and coaches, but also spectators.

Unfortunately, promoting sportsmanship can become challenging when athletes misinterpret sportsmanship as playing soft. Coaches of Longwood High find it imperative to emphasize that playing to win and acting sportsmanlike are not equally exclusive. “We all know that to be successful your players must play as hard as possible. You want confidence, without conceit. You want them to play hard and passionately, while knowing that there’s a line they shouldn’t cross with their behavior.” To draw that line, Coach Terry finds it useful to set definite rules. “I tell my players that if there’s an argument to be made during a game regarding a ref’s decision, I will be the only one making it.”

In order to institute positive behavior among his players, he will sometimes discipline them by using his most powerful weapon in his arsenal… playing time. He describes the bench as being an interesting tool that acts as the most undesirable punishment. Though no coach wants to jeopardize the outcome of a game, the overall betterment of the team is the most aspect of their future.

Sportsmanship has created a spiraling success story for the team. Prior to Coach Terry becoming the head coach and changing the structure of the team, the team struggled to pass budget for many years. In Long Island, NY basketball and football are the two major sports played. The success or struggle of the teams in the area largely impacts the budget. Many of the smaller areas have a much lower budget than areas with highly supported teams. Now, Longwood High’s budget has remained the same for the past 12 years since the team has been performing so well. They currently have a 12 and 9 record for wins this season and made it to the playoffs this year although they lost in the second round. Their last division 1 player was 4 years ago, but the success of the team has helped bring more college scouts to the high school.

Winning sportsmanship awards means a lot to some of the players because it is an award of character. It can be harder to develop character than a crossover dribble. “Very few of these kids are going to the NBA, and if basketball can teach them how to behave in intense situations, that’s going to be a positive tool for the rest of their lives.” Teachers, fans, and players realize and respect this fact. No one thought that a team effort would soon become a community effort; the results were far beyond their expectations. If not solely a team’s athletic success could draw supporters and create unity, but the team’s emotional success, more teams would be on and off court champions today.

By:Darrielle Williams