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Saturday, October 23, 2010

STARS Good sportsmanship initiative, PBSkids interview

Hello, Good Sports!

We're right smack in a busy fall sports season, enjoying not just football and soccer -- who can forget that the major league baseball playoffs are in full swing (awful pun, sadly intended)!

During this weekend there's something on TV or a sport to go to for almost any sports fan! Could there ever be a better time to think about Good and Bad Sportsmanship or see it in action?

I wanted to share a great article I came across about the S.T.A.R.S. Sportsmanship Iniative.

STARS stands for Student-Athletes Advancing Respect through Sports.

According to the article, the program was developed by America East "...based on the underlying belief that good sportsmanship habits must be instilled in athletes at a young age."

(America East is an NCAA Division I conference with a commitment to broad-based, competitive athletics programs, complementing the academic integrity and missions of the member institutions. It has nine member institutions: University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, UMBC, University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont.)


Through the STARS initiative, young athletes will be invited to special events where they will meet college student atheletes. Events and activities include:

* Attending a sportsmanship school where young athletes will learn about good sportsmanship and receive a certificate to show they graduated

* Youth athletes attending campus sporting event alongside college student-athletes to learn how to root for their team respectfully

* Youth athletes participating in a collegiate pre-game handshake line so they understand the importance of treating opponents with respect

* Publicly recognizing youth athletes who have demonstrated good sportsmanship on and off the field

* Youth athletes reading the America East sportsmanship pledge over the public address system prior to games

Congratulations to America East for putting such an important focus on good sportsmanship and young athletes.

Leslie

P.S. I was interviewed for an article by PBS.org about good sportsmanship because the author came across my book The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship. I'll let you know when it is posted.

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