1 “What word best defines sportsmanship, what it means to you, and the role it plays in high school athletics?” This book represents the finalist and honorable mention entries in the 16th Annual MIAA Student Sportsmanship Essay/Multimedia Contest as voted by the MIAA Sportsmanship Committee. Multimedia Category First Place Katerina Hassapis North Reading High School Second Place Girls Volleyball Team Lynnfield High School Literary Category First Place Erin Claflin – Newton North High School Second Place Elizabeth Wilson – Smith Academy Multimedia Category Finalists Frederick Hanna – Mashpee High School Meghan Howard, Remi Shea, Danielle Shay – Mashpee High School Narragansett RHS Broadcasting – Narragansett Regional High School Tehjia Kerr – Boston Public Schools Peabody Veterans Memorial High School Olivia Massaro, Jordan Tucker, Alyssa Bourgeois, Yaritza Morales – Maynard High School Literary Category Finalists Rebecca Hope – Oxford High School Matthew Poutre – Oxford High School Emma Harrington – Stoughton High School Taylor Coonan – Oxford High School Alexandra Frontino – Norton High School Lindsey Nelson – Foxboro High School Derek Joyce – Monson High School Chris Curtain – Mashpee High School Adrian Brogan – Littleton High School Natalie Bolio – Oxford High School Lauren Barry – Methuen High School Rachel Zins – Methuen High School Rebecca Girshik – Longmeadow High School Madeline Pupka – Oxford High School Kiana Kintchen – Oxford High School Emma Daly – Norton High School Maia Seetal – Smith Academy Amanda Lindley – Attleboro High School 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title/Author/School Page Number 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 5 Erin Claflin – Newton North High School Sportsmanship 6 Elizabeth Wilson – Smith Academy What It Means to be a Sportsman 7 Matthew Poutre – Oxford High School Sportsmanship in High School 8 Rebecca Hope – Oxford High School The Art of Selflessness 9 Emma Harrington – Stoughton High School Team Manager: The Most Important Title Won 10 Taylor Coonan – Oxford High School Respect: The Name of the Game 11 Alexandra Frontino – Norton High School Sportsmanship is Family 12 Lindsey Nelson – Foxboro High School 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 13 Derek Joyce – Monson High School Having Done Something with Passion 14 Chris Curtain – Mashpee High School For The Love of the Game 15 Adrian Brogan – Littleton High School The Hat Trick of Sportsmanship 16 Natalie Bolio – Oxford High School Passion 17 Lauren Barry – Methuen High School 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 18 Rachel Zins – Methuen High School Spirit 19 Rebecca Girshik – Longmeadow High School Defining Sportsmanship 20 Madeline Pupka – Oxford High School 3 The Road to Sportsmanship 21 Kiana Kintchen – Oxford High School Humility 22 Emma Daly – Norton High School Sportsmanship Essay 23 Maia Seetal – Smith Academy 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 24 Amanda Lindley – Attleboro High School The Most Important Traits of Sportsmanship 25 Michael Warren – Oxford High School Setting an Example 26 Brooke Storey – Oxford High School 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 27 Samantha Borges – Joseph Case High School Differing Definitions of Sportsmanship 28 Sophie DeRepentigny – Methuen High School 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 29 Carly Kingston – Longmeadow High School Sportsmanship 30 Brian Reynolds – Mashpee High School An Athlete’s Bars 31 Gabriel Bueno – Lynn Vocational Technical Institute Sportsmanship 32 Alex Wood – Mashpee High School Character 33 Sarah Jalowy – Mashpee High School 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 34 Jillian Cosgrove – Duxbury High School Contagion 35 Cassie Scheirer – Newton North High School Humility 36 Leora Levitt – Sharon High School 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 37 Taylor Rose – Mashpee High School Unraveling the Meaning of Sportsmanship 38 Cayce Pappas – Oxford High School 4 16th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay 39 Michelle Hambly – Mashpee High School Sportsmanship 40 Tre’Sorrell – Mashpee High School 5 ****FIRST PLACE**** 16TH ANNUAL STUDENT SPORTSMANSHIP ESSAY Erin Claflin Newton North High School SPORTSMANSHIP, to me goes above and beyond your personal goals or even Team goals as a student athlete. As I reflect on some of the words in your provided Frequency Map, my initial reaction is that a majority of those words are team or even individual specific adjectives which we as athletes hear daily. Sportsmanship encompasses so much more, and should be viewed in a much larger picture. We as athletes and teammates from the same school, agree during our pre-season preparations to commit to terms like “Teamwork”, “Selflessness”, “Family”, “Spirit”, “Hard work”, and “Leadership”. These are terms that will help OUR TEAM achieve certain and specific goals. One of those goals is to work towards a winning record and advance into a playoff season. Another goal is to learn how to come together as one unit, a team, and make sacrifices for, and rely on, each other. As a High School athlete, I am aware that all my opponents have also committed to similar pre-season Team goals for their school. As we focus on our Team goals and objectives, sometimes we are distracted away from the larger picture. We as individual athletes and the team that we are a small part of, must be willing to sacrifice everything, including individual accomplishments or acknowledgements, even WINS and LOSSES to make sure we compete in a manner that puts positive Sportsmanship first. There can be no excuse made, or acceptance for lack of overall sportsmanship, even if that means we suffer a loss. Every Team within the MIAA is responsible for achieving this larger picture of good Sportsmanship. Our opponents and rivals included must also be willing to sacrifice wins and losses to achieve this greater good of positive Sportsmanship. To accomplish this we all must; RESPECT your opponent, their Coaches, trainers, managers, and that opponent’s entire student body. Play with INTEGRITY. Always doing what is right, no matter what the circumstance, score, or outcome. Play FAIR and with CLASS. Never put the results of a game above the CHARACTER and REPUTATION of your school. This must also encompass our interaction with officials and referees. As in life, this is yet another “life lesson” we as High School athletes can learn through playing sports. Be willing to make sacrifices for our school, team, and teammates. But also recognize that above our school and our team we live in a much larger society. Within that society we need to be good examples. We need to promote, adhere to, and demonstrate positive leadership and good sportsmanship within everything we do. 6 ****SECOND PLACE**** Sportsmanship Elizabeth Wilson Smith Academy The first field hockey practice I ever went to was the most terrifying day of my life. I had just recently learned what the sport was, and was only playing because my best friend was doing it too. I showed up a few minutes after the practice started and I hadn’t gone to any of the summer practices. When I got out of my car, the seniors turned to me and told me that I was late. I was horrified that they were going to hate me because I had held up their practice. Throughout the practice I tried my best, but in my mind I was trying to figure out how to tell my mom that I wanted to quit. After the practice was over, one of the girls came over to me and told me that she was glad that I had joined the team. Her kindness encouraged me to come to the next practice, and the practice after that. I looked up to her and watched every hit and play she made. After every game, she would make a point to complement the younger players and encourage us, even if we lost. Without her words, I probably wouldn’t play sports. I would be worrying about the score and not how we played. I wouldn’t be who I am today. Her leadership and kindness is what I believe to be true sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is not just an idea, it is an action. It is the act of helping, teaching, encouraging, and accepting. A true sportsman has a passion for their sport and compassion towards his or her teammates. They try to help their team succeed through positive actions and words. Sportsmanship in high school athletics is immensely important because teens are frequently exposed to bullying and negativity. This constant negativity from fellow players, coaches, and other teams can really affect how a player performs. The best teams to be are always going to be the ones who show passion and integrity, no matter what their record is like. High school athletics are about developing leadership and positive relationships with others in the school community, therefore sportsmanship is one of the most important aspects of high school athletics. 7 ****FINALIST**** What it means to be a Sportsman Matthew Poutre Oxford High School Sportsmanship can be defined as ethical behavior when participating in a competition, a combination of respect and responsibility. In high schools around the country, student athletes participate in demanding physical activities that aid in building strong character, healthy relationships, and most importantly an expansive sense of respect and responsibility. These two traits best define my perception of sportsmanship, and are the most essential attributes necessary for academics, and the challenges of life itself. Respect is the admiration of somebody who has superior senses of skill and humility. In all sports, players originate from various backgrounds, with varied playing styles and skill sets. In my four years as a dedicated member of my high school Cross-Country and track teams, I have encountered many athletes from across the state who have also committed vast amounts of time and effort to running. The struggle of the race affects all of us, we all face the same challenge and give our best efforts to conquer it. When crossing the finish line, each runner congratulates each other. After the race, no hard feelings remain, just a sense of respect for each participant who gave complete effort to win the race.