Sportsmanship

The Daily Hampshire Gazette yesterday published my piece about the lessons I learned watching a 3rd and 4th grade boys' basketball team's championship season. 

The link to the piece is here.

You can read the original piece right here.

Something Special Happened on the Way to the Championship

As a basketball fan and a father, I came as close as I think I ever will to having all of my basketball hopes realized while watching the performance of this year’s Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton 3^rd and 4^th grade boys CYO basketball team. 

With a 3^rd and 4^th grade girls’ team as well, this season marks the first foray into CYO basketball for Northampton’s newly formed Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton parish. As I write this, the boys’ team is preparing to play for their division championship.  I suppose I could have waited for the results of the championship game to write this reflection, but the truth is, a championship couldn’t make me feel any better about this season.

None of these players will probably ever be able to dunk, and they probably won’t end up starting in high school, let alone college or the pros.  But they executed more than one perfect fast break during the season and often they played perfect defense.  Most importantly, they learned and developed their skills over the course of the season.  At times, they simply played basketball beautifully as they worked together as a team.  And as a result, they won a lot of games.

Now, whenever you roll a ball out there, divide the players into teams and keep score, there’s the potential for hard feelings.  The chances increase dramatically when family members watch. But over the course of the season, I didn’t see any inappropriate behavior, and that’s a big reason why I really enjoyed watching the SEAS team play, because there wasn’t been any of the ugliness that has become so common in all levels of sport.  In their last game, however, Northampton had a fast break and their opponents had no real way to stop it.  Just before the layup, one fan of the opposing team, who was sitting behind me, shouted out, “Hit him, Mack,” in effect urging this nine-or-ten-year-old kid to hurt another player.  That’s when it hit me that it was time for the season to end.

Soon, there will be a picture of this team hanging on one of the parish walls, and maybe there will be a trophy to go along with it.  And hopefully, the program will continue to thrive and a few years down the road, there will be more pictures and trophies.  But while I hope the team wins this weekend, what I hope for more is that each of these eight boys remembers just what a great season it’s been, regardless of wins and losses.

I hope they appreciate the kind pats on the back they got from their coaches when they were taken out of the game for a rest.  I hope that they realize the value of lining up after the game, shaking your opponent’s hand, and saying, win or lose, “good game.” 

I hope they remember how the coaches who yelled the loudest because their teams weren’t paying attention didn’t seem to understand that the more you yell, the less likely people are to listen. 

I hope they appreciate the effort their parents put in to make sure that they got to every game and every practice, on time for the most part.

I hope they remember the pats on the back they gave each other when they did something good, or even not-so-good.

Finally, I hope when they get older and they begin hearing the bad things that crowds are capable of, they will remember that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Andrew Shelffo

200 Prospect St.

Northampton, MA 01060

(413) 582-0712