"A Few Words about Sportsmanship..."
As Monmouth Academy and Monmouth Middle School Athletic Director, I am incredibly proud of all our teams this fall, with all our teams qualifying for postseason play in their respective "arenas".
Our athlete’s have represented our community with amazing skill, terrific sportsmanship, and the dignity and respect for their endeavors and their opponents that we expect from our student-athletes.
As we move into the "Play-Off" mode of our fall season, I just wanted to reiterate to everyone that as a community, that strongly supports our student-athletes, we want to as fans always be cognizant of our personal behaviors. WE as much as our students represent Monmouth. The maroon and white you wear so proudly should always be representative of our core values as a community. Respect, Kindness, Toughness and Determination are not just words we talk about, but are values we use as a lens to determine our choices, our actions, and our words when representing Monmouth.
In my time here at Monmouth, we, in my opinion, have made great strides in our sportsmanship and athletic culture. Please help continue that good work this postseason, because it takes all of us: Students, Parents, Coaches, Teachers, Administrators, community members near and far, to build the type of community support that becomes a model of Community Support for other schools/towns to follow.
Cheer for our students, support them, stay positive. Negative comments about other Schools, their players, the officiating, coaches, and or negative interactions with opposing fan bases is always a bad look for us. We are all MONMOUTH, our goal should be to always represent our community with pride, self respect, and class. It is hard to do all the time, especially when we are all very passionate and protective of our Students, our sons, our daughters, our friends and neighbors. Trust me, I get it, I get wrapped up sometimes too. Emotions can and do get the best of us all sometimes, especially when it comes to our children, myself included, but together we can resolve to set a standard for ourselves as a community to promote the values we want to see and are seeing this Fall in our student athletes.
If you do find yourself in a moment of vocalized negativity and realize you did say something or react in a negative way, own it, make amends, and move forward, always keeping in mind what our community goal is. WE should always strive to make our Student Athletes proud of us as Fans, just as they strive to make us proud, as Athletes.
SO when you see or hear something you disagree with this postseason (others schools Fans being disrespectful or a call/no-call from an official that you disagree with) be determined to remain positive, to stay focused on OUR Student Athletes, to build them up, and model for them how to deal and overcome the adversity that intense competitive environments inevitably create. Stay excited, be enthusiastic, be proud of our Community and the student athletes we have, and remember Sportsmanship is not just about the students on the field, but is about all of us, and how we represent all of us.
In the ever intelligent words of former UCLA Bruins Coaching legend John Wooden:
"Sports don't build character, they reveal it!"
Let's show the State of Maine the kind of character and support we believe our community represents. Positive and Passionate with appropriate perspective.
See you all soon.
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Wade Morrill
Monmouth Academy/Monmouth Middle School
Athletic Director/Dean of Students
207-933 -4416 ext. 7211 (w)
wmorrill@kidsrsu.org