Kids do the awesome things, even when you are not looking!
Springfield Student Athletes Participate in NLL Sportsmanship Conference I have wanted to share this for a few weeks, but there have been so many cool things recently that this was set aside. Mr. Screptock had sent this out to current athletes, but I wanted to share this with all of our community because of the leadership aspect for kids. I am so proud of our league for participating in this each year and what it does for our student athletes. Enjoy Mr. Screptock’s recap of this year’s sportsmanship conference.
Earlier this month, Springfield sent five student athletes to represent the Blue Devils at the 2024 Northern Lakes League (NLL) Sportsmanship Conference, which was held at the Ward Pavilion at Wildwood Preserve MetroPark. Springfield’s representatives included Tristan Geske, Addy Rapp, Brady Ruckman, Autumn Sowinski and Mark Wysinger. These representatives spent the day collaborating with student athletes from Anthony Wayne, Bowling Green, Clay, Fremont Ross, Findlay, Napoleon, Northview, Perrysburg, Southview and Whitmer.
In addition to updating and reaffirming the league’s definition of sportsmanship, they reflected on examples of what actions and behaviors constitute good sportsmanship. They also participated in team building exercises and introspective thinking to help build camaraderie and unity among the other member schools. The athletes helped build a stronger understanding of their personal values, raised awareness of what might be limiting their performance mentally, and left with a better understanding of how values and sportsmanship connect to leadership.
One of the highlights of the day was hearing from Bryan Blair, the vice president and director of athletics from the University of Toledo. Blair gave a powerful talk about how athletics brings people together and why it’s important for those participating to have high expectations of themselves and others.
The commissioner of the NLL, Richard Browne, also addressed the student representatives on the importance of sportsmanship and representing their schools and communities. The NLL’s current definition of sportsmanship is, “Sportsmanship is upholding a competitive environment where respect, compassion and integrity are expected by all athletes, administrators, coaches, officials and spectators.”
The NLL Sportsmanship Conference was organized and led by Leadership Toledo and was a huge success.
