Sportsmanship on the Sidelines

Sportsmanship

Greetings!

As many of you may have noticed on our Smith Academy social media accounts, sportsmanship is the main focus this year in Western MA. After the last couple of years, we have seen too many incidents across Western MA at games involving yellow & red cards, technical fouls, ejections, police officers, physical and verbal disagreements, etc. It is time to reevaluate why we show up to games. 

Your job this year as spectators is to be loud, proud, and always positive. We cheer on our teams. We do not cheer against other teams or officials. You can be a loud, vocal fan - we love that - as long as it's positive and encouraging and building players up. If you cannot do these things, then please do not attend our games.

Yet again, we are at an all-time low when it comes to the number of officials willing to officiate in the Pioneer Valley, so please be sure to thank them rather than criticize them. Without them, we can't play our games!

Please take a look at the attached image and the messaging below which will be found in ALL schools in Western MA. The aim of this sportsmanship campaign is to get all of Western MA on the same page so that everywhere you go, the expectations for fan and spectator conduct are the same!

  • Sportsmanship is the Expectation
    • Let the players play
    • Let the coaches coach
    • Let the officials officiate
    • Fans should be loud, proud, and always positive
    • WE ARE THE WEST!

Let's join in with other schools in Western MA and make sure we are keeping it classy both on the field and on the sidelines!

Ms. Slysz