Looking to restore spirit and sportsmanship at your gym? Start with these ideas on instilling strong values in your athletes and parents.
By Jen Jones
CBN Dec/Jan 2009
In today’s ultra-competitive all-star industry, the concept of sportsmanship is age-old—but ever relevant. Though hardly “Girls Gone Wild,” increasingly bad behavior at competitions has this topic on the tip of many coaches’ tongues. From inter-team drama to harassing judges to ungracious award acceptances, is all-star cheerleading in need of an attitude adjustment? If Storm All-Star Cheerleading owner Shannon Smith’s experience is any indication, the answer might be “yes.” Says Smith, “As a smaller, less-known program, we’ve gotten a lot of slack from bigger teams when we do well at competitions. We’ve received a lot of dirty looks and often get ignored when we say ‘good luck’ to other teams.”
Many all-star event producers and governing organizations are also discovering the need to revisit sportsmanship values. During the 2007 Worlds, a roundtable discussion was held to examine the issue; in preparation, coaches from all over the country were asked to submit any negative competition experiences. The deluge of responses made it clear that change was sorely needed. “There are so many facets of sportsmanship that it’s hard to create actual rules for parents, kids and coaches,” says National Cheer Stars co-owner Ed Callais, who led the roundtable. “We decided we needed creeds to cover the coach, athlete and parent in which each individual would make pledges about what they’re going to do.”
The creed resonated with its target audience—so much so that 85 gyms and the U.S. All-Star Federation submitted their logos to be affiliated on a promotional poster. As a sign of unity, many gyms now display the poster prominently in their facilities to visibly demonstrate their commitment to improved sportsmanship. “As the guiding federation, we think it’s really important that the spirit of competition is always brought in the most positive light,” says Tegan Reeves, USASF’s Director of Education. “Because the creed was created with the entire industry in mind, we think it can get the message out that what we are doing needs to be a positive experience.”
Why the strong need for the creed? According to Games Girls Play author Caroline Silby, young athletes feel competitive pressure in all areas of life—on and off the mat. “It is naïve for us to think that young athletes won’t place great importance on winning,” says Silby. “The driving force behind most episodes of poor sportsmanship is an athlete’s own self-doubt, fear about missing expectations and frustration resulting from a missed expectation.”
Though a focus on winning is a healthy and understandable part of any sport, many coaches seek a happy medium—and initiate a return to cheerleading’s roots of spirit and supportiveness. So how can you promote these values at your gym? CBN consulted with various coaches and experts for concrete ideas on bringing about positive change:
Clearly communicate your expectations. Each time a cheerleader comes on board at Storm All-Star Cheerleading, Smith requires the athlete and his/her parents to immediately read and acknowledge the gym’s code of conduct. “We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to sportsmanship at events,” says Smith, whose gym is based in Sanford, NC. “[The code] also addresses behavior inside the gym; once there is respect within your organization, it spreads to other teams at competition.”
Consistent application and enforcement of your gym’s stance is also a must for effectiveness. According to Silby, the ability to stay true to your coaching philosophy plays a big role in how well athletes and parents adopt its tenets. “It’s important to create fair and impartial standards,” says Silby. “Be clear on how you will handle the large issues and develop consistent disciplinary procedures.”
Transform competitors into allies. When the teams from Indiana’s Rushville All-Stars arrive at competition, their first order of business is typically to find a “buddy squad” outside their division. “We’ll meet and mingle, and we usually make a handshake contract to cheer on the other team with all our might,” says owner Leslie Baugh. “It’s a really comforting welcome to hear the roar of the crowd outside your own support circle.”
Another tradition for the Rushville teams is to bring autograph books to each competition. Baugh distributes inexpensive composition books to her teams and challenges each cheerleader to fill the books with names of competing athletes. “The idea behind it is that we want to see who can meet the most people from different gyms,” shares Baugh, who has owned the gym since 2001. “It takes the emphasis off competition and shifts to being about fun.”
Encourage athletes and parents to hold each other accountable. Though coaches bear a large responsibility in upholding sportsmanship, it can also be extremely effective to enlist those around you as ambassadors. After sharing your ideals, make it clear that you expect them to be upheld even in your absence. “It’s almost a system of checks and balances,” says Smith. “Once kids know what your expectations are, they’re pretty good about pulling someone to the side and saying, ‘That wasn’t cool.’”
Accept outcomes gracefully. In the heat of the moment, it can be difficult to accept a disappointing loss—which is often when questioning results comes into play. Rather than sharing your frustrations with the athletes, it’s important to stay rational and respectful. “I constantly hear coaches tell kids, ‘The judges didn’t know what they were talking about,’” says Callais. “What it really boils down to is making an excuse about why they didn’t win. Even if it’s true, it shouldn’t be expressed to the athletes.”
Parents are also common culprits in second-guessing judges’ decisions. Though it typically stems from concern for their child’s well-being, it’s still important for coaches to nip this behavior in the bud. Says Smith, “I’ve had parents come up to me and say, ‘Did you see that? Was that legal?’ and I’ll look at them and say, ‘Are you a judge? You don’t have a pencil, so it doesn’t matter.’ They trust me to fix it if something is wrong.”
Baugh agrees: “I’m the first one to tell parents, ‘Maybe our difficulty wasn’t strong enough or maybe there were bobbles we didn’t notice.’ I try to establish authority and politely remind them that both the judges and I know more than they do—after all, they pay me to be confident and knowledgeable.”
Effectively address problem behavior. When athletes or parents act inappropriately, Silby suggests taking time to hear them out before taking any disciplinary action. “Discipline can only be effective when a connection is present,” says Silby. “In order to connect emotionally, it’s important to acknowledge their opinions and validate their feelings—even those of anger, frustration, fear, and doubt.”
In her experience, Baugh has found that addressing issues in a group setting has been more effective than one-on-one. “When I’m in the moment and something sets me off, I address it right then and there,” says Baugh. She cites one particular instance in which a flyer was at odds with her bases as an example of her approach: “I’ll ask the person, ‘Do you have a cape or wings? No. Obviously, you can’t fly on your own and you need your teammates to help you.’ It puts it in perspective for them; they need each other.”
Lead by example. The golden rule—exhibit a healthy competitive attitude, and chances are your athletes will as well. Your interactions with those at your gym as well as other teams will set the tone and shape how your gym is perceived. “You can’t have a ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ attitude as a coach,” says Smith. “If we don’t lead by example, how can we expect our children to do anything other than what we do?”
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