How a sportsmanship pin program could boost sportsmanship across Wisconsin high school sports
We have all witnessed the decline over the years in sportsmanship. Be it from the players, coaches or even the parents, it has definitely gone downhill.
I recently participated in a tennis tournament in Indianapolis. There were more than 50 teams present representing multiple states. My team was honored to be representing Wisconsin.
Before heading to Indianapolis, the coaches had to participate in some rigorous training and also agree to strict rules and policies.
The organization had a zero-tolerance policy for bad behavior. The coaches stressed to the players and the spectators that mandatory expulsion would happen if any rule were broken.
Sheboygan South standout: Sheboygan South football's Maddox Xiong embraces Hmong heritage, Christian faith to excel
Ultimately, the goal was to let the players play, the coaches coach, the officials officiate and the spectators spectate.
The officials also implemented a sportsmanship pin program to encourage good behavior among the players. Witnessing how well this worked in Indiana made me want to do something similar here. I watched kids from different schools and states talking with each other after the matches and sometimes exchanging contact information, something rarely seen in sports these days.
So how does this pin work? After a team match or game, the players from Team A discuss who they thought had the best sportsmanship on Team B. Team B would do the same for Team A. Both teams would then line up after the match/game and present one player from the opposing team the pin and explain why that person was chosen.
Currently, just Kohler girls’ tennis is handing out these pins, but ultimately, we’d love to see other schools and sports in our conference participate in the program.
The big goal is to grow this into all sports and schools, not just our conference. We’ve already seen great camaraderie with the schools we’ve shared the pin with. There is also talk of growing this program and creating a scholarship for deserving athletes.
If your sport or school would like to participate in this program, please reach out to us at choosesportsmanship.com and let’s work together to create something good for our athletes!
Sophia Torke, 16, is a junior at Kohler High School. She has played in the No. 1 doubles spot on her team since freshman year. She also plays year-round in USTA tournaments and junior travel teams.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Wisconsin high school sports can boost sportsmanship with pin program
