Good sportsmanship was driven into me as a young child. Not being a sore loser or disrespectful winner were the lessons being taught at home. Being both a gracious winner and gracious loser was more important than the actual outcomes in our house.
But I never knew that those lessons may have actually been helping me succeed in sports.
Junior tournaments are notorious for cheating and poor sportsmanship. But as I started traveling the world watching these tournaments I started to notice a trend. The players who rose to the top more often than not embodied great sportsmanship. The better players were gonna beat you with their racket not with bad line calls or other dishonest tactics.
It’s not only okay to be nice to your opponent, it can help you handle moments when your opponent is playing well or when you’re not on your game.
Being competitive and being a good sport can and should happen at the same time.
Compete with everything you’ve got but do it with respect to your opponents, to the sport, and to yourself. It’s best to play fair while you strive to win while always trying to do your best.
jason fransen