Sportsmanship should be a top priority of all high school athletes, but sadly that is not the case all the time.
No matter how difficult an opponent might be, or how disappointing a loss is, sportsmanship should be present at all times. It is understandable for things to get heated in the moment of a hard fought game, but, once it comes time to shake hands, sportsmanship must be at the top of the list.
This was evident on Friday when I had the pleasure of covering the boy’s lacrosse game against visiting New Egypt.
This was one of the most exciting, yet heartbreaking games an athlete could go through. After surging to a 3-0 lead, the Pirates fell back into a tie and then fought tooth and nail in a back-and-forth affair before falling with less than six seconds left in overtime by a score of 10-9.
While standing on the sidelines behind the scorer’s table, I got to witness firsthand how well the boy’s lacrosse team handled such a tough loss.
I stood at the scorer’s table double-checking my scoring notes and tweeting out the final score, all while the two teams lined up to shake each other’s hands. I was close enough to hear what was being said.
Outside of the obligatory “good game” comments, some of the Pirates players added some extra comments to the discussion that were the definition of sportsmanship.
Some of the Pirates lacrosse players went as far as telling New Egypt players that that was one of the best games they had ever been a part of. Others talked to New Egypt players about how fun the game was and that they looked forward to seeing them again later in the season.
In all honesty, what high school athlete has the composure to make such positive comments to the players of the team that just handed them their first loss of the season in overtime? The answer to that question is simply; Cinnaminson athletes.
Even though this column is focused on the comments heard after the boy’s lacrosse game, the sentiment applies across the board for all Pirates athletes in all three sports seasons.
I covered varsity sports at the high school for the Patch back in 2011-2012 and have now been on the fields for almost one month with Cinn City Sports and hands-down, the athletes at Cinnaminson High School exhibit superior sportsmanship no matter the circumstances.
All of the athletes at the high school across all of the levels should be commended for how well they handle themselves in times of adversity. It says a lot about their makeup, their coaches, their teachers, and especially, their parents.
