Can excellence and character co-exist in sports?

One of the aspects of the "sports builds vs. reveals character" debate that does not get much analysis is the type of character traits coaches are interested in building and maintaining.

Coaches at higher or more competitive levels or situations--where winning is emphasized or expected--will tend to emphasize the character traits that are important to winning games such as self-discipline and perseverance.

Coaches at youth levels--where sportsmanship is an expectation--tend to emphasize character traits that make an athlete a better person and a better citizen such as integrity, respect, fairness and compassion.

We see this divergence as athletes and coaches move further up the ladder. Coaches and players spend more time and effort developing the physical, mental and emotional tools that are important to winning games--at the expense of the moral or relational character traits. A player who is great on the field, but a bad teammate is tolerated because we do allow this drift to happen.

We therefore shouldn't act surprised when this breakdown results in the stories that splash across the sports pages on a daily basis that fall in the class of "athletes behaving badly". Far too often, elite and professional athletes are developed into high-performance, athletic skill machines on the field with low-performance, character skills off the field.

We all feel somehow diminished and saddened when those who at one time were considered among the best of us in one area, end up demonstrating the worst human performance in other, more important areas of life. Somebody tell TW, Inc.

CHARACTER COUNTS.

EXCELLENCE - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - Colossians 3:23-24