There are quite a few reasons and scenarios that could get an athlete kicked out of a game. Some of these reasons may include fighting with players, taunting players or coaches, and yelling at the referees. No matter what action an athlete chooses to act upon, all are horrible displays of poor sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is “fair and generous behavior or treatment of others, especially in a sports contest. At FHC, sportsmanship is a highly valued moral that is shown in many different ways.

The soccer season unfortunately came to an end earlier than what the team had hoped after FHC lost to the Pioneers of East Grand Rapids. Even though it was a hard fought game, that did not stop senior Lance Decker from congratulating one of his former teammates and friends. Though it was a tough loss, the boys hugged each other and made sure that regardless of what happened on the field, they could still embrace one another in a display of good sportsmanship. Lance Decker is proud to be a friend regardless of whose team he is on. “Having a friend on the other team makes me more competitive when I play against him. Through the wins and the losses, it was nice to have someone other than my own teammates be there.”

Honoring the newly adopted school-wide mantra of the “One Hat” tradition, Anthony Sultini, head freshman and JV football coach, is a proud individual and believes that sportsmanship is one of the best things to teach players of his teams. “To me, sportsmanship is the demonstration of respect toward the players and the coaches that we are both coaching with and coaching against. I think it is one of the most important things to demonstrate, especially as a coach. If I am showing disrespect or being unsportsmanlike, my players will follow suit and will think that it’s okay for them to do the same thing,” coach Sultini says. “ There’s the phrase, walk the walk and talk the talk, which is exactly what all of us need to do.

As a sophomore, growing with the team and being a part of a Ranger tradition takes some getting used to. Joel Ford is a member of the FHC baseball team, and he is paying close attention to how he can do his share of representing his team correctly through wins and losses. Joel says, “Sportsmanship is respecting everyone on the field and overall just having a good time while being nice to both players and coaches on my team and the opposing team. Sportsmanship is really important to respect because without it, the game would be chaotic and nobody would have any fun.”

Sportsmanship shines through in athletics at FHC, but it is also exemplified through extracurriculars such as band. Being a member of the band, you get to see firsthand how good sportsmanship is demonstrated on the field and how it connects to how band members treat each other and opposing teams correctly. Band members must not shout out cruel comments to the players of the opposing team even though it is easy to verbalize frustrations if FHC is losing or receiving bad calls from the referees. This is especially true for band member Alex Fletcher.

Alex elaborates on how the band is very similar to a team and how sportsmanship is displayed through their own events. She says, “In the band, we have band camp week which is a great way for us to get to know each other better. We have a game called the “Hunger Games” which is where we go section by section and compete with each other, and that’s big for each section to bond and compete in a kind sportsmanlike manner.” Whether it be an intense volleyball match or a laid back game of get to know you, sportsmanship is key to everyone’s enjoyment.

Sportsmanship is what being a Ranger is all about.