Lacrosse in full swing, US tops bad sportsmanship list

Dear Good Sports,

How are you? Here in the Good Sports house, Spring Sports are in full swing, and our book, The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship, is proving to be the little engine that could! That's been very great news, but it means I've been so busy that I have been very bad keeping up with posting here!

We had the younger Good Sport Daughter's lacrosse game today. It's the second one and it's amazing how the girls are really picking up the game this year in 5th and 6th grade. It was quite windy and chilly but we survived. (If you can believe it, it was 49 degrees but an ice cream truck kept circling the field. Not a single girl asked for ice cream!) Good Sport Dad is the coach and has been laboring over the rotation. He got an official jacket this year, complete with his name embroidered on the sleeve. We are still working on the team cheer. They're saying something -- but it's not quite clear what.

The older Good Sport daughter has been learning tennis over the winter and is excited to start playing outside for a change. The whole family has been going over to the Valley Forge Military Academy track to run (Dad & daughters) and walk (me).

But while all this nice, calm, happy stuff has been going on, I found out that there was a recent Reuter/Ipsos poll that bad behavior by parents at youth sporting events is more likely to occur in the United States than in any other country.

Ugh!

A quote by John Wright, senior vice president of Ipsos: It's ironic that the United States, which prides itself on being the most civilized country in the world, has the largest group of adults having witnessed abusive behavior at children's sports events. There is clearly a fine line between participatory enthusiasm and abuse and parents, as role models, have got to keep in mind and keep themselves in check for the sake of their children.

And, at the same time this week, we had the story out of a Phillies game that an abusive fan allegedly vomited on an off duty police officer and his young daughter.

So -- as we start to enjoy all our Spring sports, don't forget to remember what kind of behavior is acceptable -- and what isn't. (Then, maybe next year we might not top the list!)

Leslie

P.S. We've started offering The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship as a fundraiser. If you're interested for your team or township, please email us for more information.

Good Sportsmanship in ... Science

Hello, Good Sports!

Today I want to switch gears and write just a little bit about Good Sportsmanship -- not in Sports, but in Science!

I came across an article about a District High School Science Olympiad Tournament where the winning team gave the second place team a standing ovation during the awards ceremony.

It would have been easy -- and human nature -- for the winning team to celebrate their win and not even think about the other team (except for maybe some polite applause or an unfortunate boo). They'd studied hard and deserved their win. But the fact that they looked outside of themselves and the situation to honor a worthy opponent says worlds about their character and the adults who have guided them over the years.

(I forgot to say that only two points separated the two teams from each other, and the win could have very easily gone the other way!)

I imagine it made the second place team feel better about their performance by having their hard work recognized by the winners and also giving them a well-deserved moment of celebration. After all, although they lost, they had studied hard to get to the Olympiad, and their participation was deserving of a place in the spotlight, too.

So, being a Good Sport doesn't just happen on the playing field. It's values and behaviors that we and our children can use all throughout life!

And that's my little post about Good Sportsmanship and Science! I just had to squeeze it in while it was still fresh in my mind before the Olympics start tomorrow!

Leslie

Good Press for Good Sportsmanship

Dear Good Sports,

I wanted to share a review by Perry Perkins, a writer for the Portland Examiner, of The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship, here.

Perry had expressed an interest in seeing a copy of the book, and I was very excited when he contacted me with his review much sooner than I expected. I can't thank him enough!

Word about the book is starting to spread via cutting edge technology (press releases on the web, links, blogs, forums) and simple, practical efforts (one of the Good Sport daughters and I spent the afternoon dropping off book marks at two libraries, the grocery store, a pizzeria, and a toy store, while last week a book store took some actual books to sell). I'm planning a fundraising kit offering the book, a discount that goes to the event and a Good Sport Bad Sport water bottle that I hope to start offering to day cares, schools and sports associations.

(Speaking of cutting edge technology, it's allowing me to multi-task right now by blogging on the web while we watch the New Orleans Saints and the Vikings play for the NFC championship. Not sure who I want to win because the Good Sport Aunt and Uncle and Cousins are transplants to New Orleans ... but the Vikings have their Brett Farve story. And I like purple.)

The younger Good Sport Daughter is starting indoor lacrosse next week, and the older Good Sport daughter is taking tennis lessons, so I'm sure that I'll very soon have some real life good sport/bad sport examples to share.

In the meantime, enjoy the football game! (And, I hope you'll check out the review if you get a chance.)

Leslie

Enter to win a free copy of The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship

Dear Good Sports,

Just a quick post to let you know that The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship has been entered in a free giveaway contest on Goodreads, a social website for book lovers of all kinds.

The deadline to enter is January 15th, so if you're interested, check out the site.

I'll be back in the New Year with more good and bad sport news and observations.

Happy New Year,

Leslie

Good Sportsmanship is Everyone's Responsibility

Dear Good Sports,

While we are enjoying our surprising and exciting down time due to today's blizzard (and while the family puts off cleaning the basement and playroom) I thought it's the perfect time to post a little blog about Good Sportsmanship!

This popped up in my Google Alerts for Good Sportsmanship: The City of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation Sports Registration Form.

A Form? Usually just articles pop up, so I was surprised to see a pdf of an actual registration form. But, in this instance, I couldn't have clicked on anything more interesting or informative.

At the top of the form, below the City's header and above the words Sports Registration Form is the subhead: Good Sportsmanship is Everyone's Responsibility ... Be a Good Sport

Then, within the form on the front is this section requiring a signature:

PARENT'S OATH TO KIDS
I promise to demonstrate good sportsmanship by being a positive role model and encouraging you to play and have fun while supporting you
and your team in both victory and defeat.
Parent/Guardian Signature Date

Then, the entire back of the form is devoted to Good Sportsmanship. The left side is the Player's code of conduct, the right side is the Parent's code of conduct.

Wow -- it's awesome! They're really taking Good Sportsmanship seriously.

Check it out here: The City of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation Sport Registration Form.

The Form really sums it all up! In fact, it makes it so obvious, I don't really even have anything to add. Which means I can't put off cleaning for blogging any longer.

Enjoy the snow if you are in one of the affected parts of the country! Hopefully we'll speed through cleaning and go sledding soon.

Leslie

P.S. Unabashed plug: The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship makes a great gift for kids and parents. Just click the book link to order.

The Blind Side

Dear Good Sports,

Just a quick update to tell you that if you haven't seen The Blind Side yet, run, don't walk, to see it.

Good Sport Dad, one of the Good Sport Daughters and I went to see it over the weekend, combining it with a trip to Lowes and Target to find a new, tasteful Christmas inflatable for the front yard. (Besides Thanksgiving weekend last weekend, this was our first weekend without outdoor soccer or outdoor tennis ... and it snowed!)

We really enjoyed the movie. The theatre was full of people of all ages, and everyone loved it. Do yourself a favor and see if it you get the opportunity.

On another subject, I'm excited to tell you that our marketing for The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship is starting to move forward.

Our press release should be going out in the next week or so, and I am in the process of building a Fan Page on Facebook. (The book's actually showing a rank on Amazon as sales start trickling in -- wow.)

And, as soon as I publish this post, I'll be tweeting about it!

That's it for me. Here's hoping you had a great, sports-viewing filed weekend.

Leslie

P.S. About 6 weeks ago, one of my car radio's pre-set FM stations changed from music to ESPN. I have to tell you that I've gotten hooked on all the sports talk shows! In fact, I'm wondering what's going to happen tomorrow (Monday) when Allen Iverson plays with the 76ers!

P.P.S. The inflatable is Snoopy and Woodstock in an airplane with a sign that reads "Seasons Greetings." Good Sport Dad assures me it's tasteful. Hum?

Good Sportsmanship book just published!

Dear Good Sports!

I am writing you today with some exciting news! I've just published The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship through Good Manners Kids Stuff Press.

(As I mentioned last post, you probably aren't surprised to see that it's about good sportsmanship -- since this is the Good Sport Bad Sport Blog!)

I was so excited to check Amazon this morning and see that it was live! I've put the link to Amazon on the side of the blog. Isn't the cover cute?

The book is perfect for children between the ages of 4and 8 to read with their parents. The children will enjoy reading examples about the sports and activities done by children just like them, and you'll pick-up some tips, too. At the end of the book you'll find a cute certificate that child and parent can sign together when you've learned all the ways to be a Good Sport. I hope you'll check it out when you have a moment.

The last month and a half was a flurry of activity getting this book and my other one (a children's fantasy, The Month of Zephram Mondays, available at Good Manners Kids Stuff Press) ready to be printed, so I wasn't able to post at all! I hope not to leave you so long between posts again. In fact, I can't believe that the last time I posted was during the World Series.

Guess I'll do my best to check back in before the Super Bowl!

Leslie

P.S. Looking back over the post for those typos that usually only become blatantly obvious once the blog is published, I see that I used the word cute twice. Hardly a sports-like word. But the cover and certificate really are cute! If I changed one of the cutes to adorable, that would be even worse, don't you think? So, I'm going to leave the cutes there for now!

...although fun could be a fall back choice, too!