I stood in the batters box, waiting anxiously for the pitcher to throw the ball my way hoping for  a chance to put the ball in play. The pitcher came to the plate with the ball. The ball came toward me and the crowd held their collective breath.The other team saw that the ball was about to cross the plate, and yelled ‘swing,’ to distract me from hitting the ball. I know that it was their intention to stop me from hitting the ball which is frustrating because they were being bad sports.

There is nothing you can really do about bad sportsmanship, other than to inform and educate what effects that can have on other people. For example, if a player sees that their coach is yelling or talking  back to the umpire, then the players will react similarly maybe not in talking back to the umpire, but in talking bad in the dugout. At some of Smoky Hill’s freshman baseball games, there are parents who yell at players, coaches, and the umpires-usually because of a bad call that they may have made.

A child will often look to their parents for support and guidance, so if they see the mom or dad have bad sportsmanship or being negligent than the child will notice that and act as the parent did. In sports such as baseball, we see such a thing only once in a while, which is good, but it is still a problem. As a parent and coach, is it important to offer praise and encouraging words for all athletes-including the opposing team. Don’t show up to a game or sporting event and openly berate, tease, or yell at coaches, players, or referee as explained in an article written by familyeducation (Teaching Good Sportsmanship) http://life.familyeducation.com/sports/parenting/36484.html.