Interesting that some colleges and high schools are discontinuing the rite of teams meeting and shaking hands after a sporting contest. Too bad! Administers say that too often fights break out and this ritual becomes another means of pushing the defeated players’ faces into the mud. So instead of teaching athletes how to accept both winnning and defeat, we just ignore the subject; in effect, saying that neither how we react to loosing or wining is important.
Last month I met a young man who had a different approach and had aquired the win/lose virtue. This adolescent was tall and thin; handsome, too. I easily became proud to know him and really honored to talk with him. I know, I impress easily, but he was a man every adult would love to call “son.”
He told me he ran cross-country for one of the local high schools. I should have know that from the way he looked and especialy from his attitude. It seems to me runners are a special class of citizens, quiet, in shape, and kind. I told him how much I admired runners and that I had seen three runners the day before running thuough the neighborhood. He asked where I had seen them and when I told him he said, “They go to Brentwood High School. They are really great runners, our team enjoys running with them. Wish we could beat them, but so far we haven’t. Two of them are brothers, twins I think. The other is their good friend. They always run together. They are good students too, and really nice guys. You should meet them.”
I haven’t had that chance yet, but, their accompolishements are not going un-noticed. The twin brothers were pictured in the local paper this week! See above. Congratulations, Boys! Keep up the good work!
How is that for an endorsement from an opponent? Shouldn’t we hold our other athletes up to the standard set by this fellow and his running peers? Or is it OK just to stick our administrative heads into the sand and ignore another chance to help kids develop character?
I think not! Let me know what you think!