Sportsmanship

Photo: John Millea, MSHSL media specialist

I am not knowledgeable on, nor really a fan of dance line, but I do respect  the athletes who participate.  Like any judged sport, there is a built in subjective criteria to judging, and sometimes the wrong team wins for the right/wrong reasons.   However in this case, it looks like Faribault won with a routine that was pre-adjudicated to be legal, and must have been executed well.  It would appear that the choreography was within the rules as written, and they won.  I wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to judge it in any case.  All I've been able to review has pointed to actions taken *before* competition by the Minnesota State High School League to remove the origins of the routine as an issue.  My sense is that dance choreography borrows from all sorts of sources from NFL cheerleaders to Martha Graham and the Bolshoi.  I could be wrong - I'm a coach in a different arena, and there are no style points awarded for keeping a boat upright.
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All that said, I am disappointed for the kids/athletes who were shunned by the other competitors at the awards.   It's a judged sport, for heaven's sakes. They won. They didn't cheat.  They didn't kneecap anyone else to win or bribe judges. Congratulate them and move on.  If rules need to be changed, the time to do that is later.  The video of the now disqualified 2nd-5th place teams' actions should be evidence at their disciplinary hearing for further sanctions for the coaches.

There is no place in high school sports for actions like this.  "Honor the game" - even if you don't like the results.  To act as the other teams did dishonors the sport, themselves, and their competitors.  As coaches, parents and schools, we work hard to build up kids' true sense of self worth and self esteem.

Right now, I'm feeling a lot of sympathy for the girls who stood proudly on center stage, and not much empathy whatsoever for the 4 teams who stood off to the side, and frankly pouted.  Just plain out bad sportsmanship.

Sportsmanship and grace - Two years ago, an athlete I coach placed 4th at US National Team Trials for sprint kayak.  She had possibly the worst spring (in terms of training conditions) possible - ice on the water until 3 days before trials, horrid conditions on spring training trip south, and her coach did not do an adequate job of preparing her on the ergometer (indoor training). But she sucked it up and went for it.  She finished 4th (3 to qualify), and with far more grace than I could manage, congratulated the girls who beat her. I had never been so proud of an athlete.  A month later, she was elevated to join the team when one of the other athletes had to decline, and made 2 semifinals at Jr Worlds.  
Last year, I watched a high school boy from a conference rival school hand his race skis to a young lady whose skis went 'missing' due to a communications issue with her dad.  No questions asked, just I'm about the same weight, mine were fast, you can have them.   That the skis wound up securing her state championship is almost beside the point.  It's now legend, and an act of true sportsmanship.  *THAT* is the kind of legacy you want to see at State, not a 4 team pout.

If I ever have an opportunity, I'd like to go shake hands with each Faribault athlete and coach, and tell them simply - "Congratulations - you won it".

Bottom line, you can't always win.  If you don't, accept it with as much grace as you can muster and congratulate the winners.  If the truly unfortunate happens, and it turns out there were issues, accept the new results and move on.  Sour grapes and boorish behavior simply have no place in sport.