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CHALLENGER AND NAIA
Champions of Character
By
Bruce E Brown, NAIA Special Presenter
The Core Value of RESPECT
Like it or not, the behavior of your athletes and coaches during
competition is often the most public reflection of your school and
community. Each game and practice is an opportunity for everyone
involved in sports to reveal their personal character and model
what they have learned. The NAIA Champions of Character program
is founded on five core values: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity,
Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship. A true athletic philosophy
needs to both a belief statement and an action statement. Sound
athletic programs say with their words and actions, "this is
what we believe, so therefore, this is what will be seen if you
watch us play. Each of these core values can be seen in the behavior
of coaches and athletes. In this article, we will focus on some
of the methods an athlete can use to demonstrate RESPECT.
An athlete with respect for the game, and the team has learned to
have a teachable spirit. In athletic terms, they are coachable.
They are able to take correction as a compliment. They understand
that the coach's job is to identify areas of weakness and help them
improve. They also equate correction as a by-product of the coach
seeing potential in them to get better, and have enough inner confidence
to not feel criticized or singled out. An athlete, when corrected,
gives the coach both verbal and physical cues that they are listening
and learning. Their body language and voice are saying, "thanks
for believing in me and that I am capable of being better".
An athlete is consistently seeking new information and is eager
to go through the learning process. They demonstrate respect for
coaches and teammates by being attentive and focused during instruction
because without attentiveness, improvement is limited.
An athlete has developed work habits. They can subject themselves
to hard, productive work. They are committed to continuous improvement.
They have learned to concentrate and do the physical work required
for a full practice session. Their ability to work and learn, assist
in the production of the next part of the core value of respect,
respectful confidence. The athlete has a quiet, inner confidence
based on preparedness. True team confidence is gained from the collective
preparation of the group. Work habits of an athlete are directed
toward achieving excellence of both individual and team goals. Genuine
confidence is based on belief, and belief is based on consistency
of accomplishment and daily work habits.
It is essential that an athlete demonstrates, respectful pride.
Pride is a two-edged sword. On one hand, there is the ego kind of
pride, which centers on individual accomplishments, while respectful
pride is a shared feeling between all team members that no one on
the outside can understand. The good kind of pride comes from "shared
joy of the inner circle" of athletes. It allows teams to take
ordinary things and make them something special, and it allows individuals
to be aware and appreciate other people, roles and accomplishments.
An athlete with RESPECT has made the choices necessary to be unselfish
with their effort and attention, their preparation can be counted
on by teammates and they have committed to the strength of the inner
circle.
Champions of Character
core values
For more information on the Champions of Character initiative,
contact the NAIA National Office at 913-791-0044 or www.championsofcharacter.org.
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