From feuds between the boys’ soccer team and varsity football team, to angry fans being kicked out of indoor soccer games and many other similar occurrences, Freedom has poor sportsmanship all around. Professional athletes are constantly taking heat; they have no choice but to ignore criticisms or else legal matters would come into play. The threat of being less popular among fans would devastate a player’s career. The way they carry themselves before during and after any game has to be professional. It seems that because high school athletes don’t have to worry about the major issues like that, good sportsmanship is completely thrown out the window. At Freedom, all the athletes practice for their sports with hard work and dedication in preparation for meets, matches, games, etc. But, when the practice doesn’t always pay off, a player’s bad side comes out. It gets a bit ridiculous when you’re the one that chose to dedicate yourself to a team, yet threaten to quit multiple times through out the season because of a few bad games. Instead, make it a personal goal to improve whatever it is you messed up on. You joined the sport for a reason; don’t quit because you can’t handle the pressures of having a bad game. Everyone has off days. Coaches don’t always help the situation either. I’ve been to every different type of sport that’s occurred so far this year, and often coaches get in players’ faces yelling about their flaws during the game. It doesn’t help the situation, but it is their job, so don’t let them discourage you. Get back out there and impress your coach; prove him or her wrong instead of throwing in the towel. Coaches aren’t the only ones that add to the problem; opposing team members make it a goal to get you fired up. Don’t let the opposing team’s players get in your head. High school athletes are rough when it comes to trash-talking other teams. Instead of letting it get to you and flipping out, just ignore it. My coach once told me that if someone says I’m not good enough, and I have to prove it to him or her, I’m trying to prove to myself that I’m good enough, too. Confidence really is the key. When you join a sports team, you’re representing your high school; everyone joins sports teams to get their athletic capabilities noticed. But when you act like the world is ending because you missed a foul shot, didn’t run fast enough or missed a field goal, all that people notice is the negative vibes you’re giving off. There used to be an Athlete of the Week, but that’s gone. All the teams try their very hardest when “game-time” rolls around. But when the stands are only filled for select sports, the other teams that don’t get as much spectator attention feel quite a let-down. We know the school administration and staff are trying harder to give the sports teams recognition, but when they fail to do so, players get let down. When you have poor sportsmanship, not only are you making yourself look bad, but you’re making your team and the school as a whole look bad, too.