2009-2010 Good Sportsmanship Reports

Good Sport Report Form

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Official Watts: "During a pretty well contested ball game, the girls from Vandalia Middle School and Edwardsville Liberty epitomized sportsmanship by always extending a hand to players from th eother team to help them up, even if they did not cause the person to fall. Congratulating the opposing players on a good play, and checking to see if they were okay when they hit the floor. The game was a pleasure to work and it was a pleasure to see these young girls show the sportsmanship that we would all like to see."

St. Joseph Principal Chris Graham: "During a regular season contest between St. Jospeh Middle School and Chrisman JHS a particular player caught my eye early in the game as she offered her hand to help up players who had hit the floor. She did this for her own teammates and for her opponents. The yound lady's name is Shelby Warner and she is a 7th grader on the Chrisman girl's basketball team. The game continued and it became obvious the outcome of the game was not going to be in her teams favor. This did not affect her attitude towards the players on the floor and her compassion for all those in the game. She continued to offer a hand to every player who hit the floor regardless of the circumstances. It is sportsmnanship and attitude such as was displayed by Shelby that we administrators, coaches, teachers and parents are looking for in the students who participate in IESA activities. Keep it up Shelby!"

Official Smith: "A girl from Henry Middle School showed excellent sportsmanship in a game versus Roanoke-Benson on October 26. Number 4 for Henry ran over a girl from Roanoke-Benson and knocked her to the floor. Number 4 helped the opposing player up and apologized for running her over and checked to see if she was ok. Both levels of the play, 7th and 8th grade, were a pleasure to officiate this night."

CROSS COUNTRY
Official Nalley: "I would like you to know that Buffalo Grove Cooper Middle School conducted an excellent IESA Cross Country Sectional Meet on Saturday, October 10th. The meet was well organized and well staffed by volunteers, visiting coaches, and assigned personnel. The planning and facility arrangements were excellent due to the overall coordination by Mr. Tim Thiessen. Coach Thiessen had the course marked and constructed in an excellent manner. The coordination of the volunteers was visible in many aspects. Having started several large cross country meets and track and field meets over the years; I have to stat that Mr. Thiessen deserves a big pat on the back for a job well done. I was amazed at the cooperation of the soccer coaches and young community athletes in staying off of the cross country course while the two races were conducted. It was indeed a pleasant experience to officiate the meet at Buffalo Grove Cooper. I believe that the success of Cooper's program refelcts the hard work and efforts that Coach Thiessen and his staff and administration contribute all season. "

Official Moy: "The Rochester JHS cross country sectional was very well conducted and managed by athletic diretor Mr. Andrew Ford and his staff of volunteers. There were two disqualifications in the girls race. I contacted the coach of Cahokia Wirth, Mr. Willie Byrd, and explained the violation and the disqualification to him. Coach Byrd was very well mannered and accepted the explanation. He did not argue or complain that I was picking on his team or even raise his voice, as many coach in his place would have done. I must say that Coach Byrd should be commended for his demeanor and attitude during this tough situation for his team. He truly is a great example to his students athletes."

BOYS BASKETBALL
Official Wiseman: "I had the pleasure of officiating the Leroy 7th and 8th grade boys basketball team last night at Gibson City. I wanted to recognized the coach from Leroy for showing outstanding sportsmanship in both contests. The 7th grade coach was in a position last night to bury the 7th grade boys team from Gibson City. He chose to play his less experience players in order to keep the score respectable and to keep from having a running clock. He did an outstanding job teaching and coaching those young boys. The 8th grade coach was in a contest that was close throughout the entire game. The young boys never gave up, played hard and were coached well in a come from behind victory in the final period. The coach said nothing to us about how the game was being officiated. The coach never lost focus of the game situation. I would like to recoginze both coaches for their outstanding display of sportsmanship."

Official Smith: "I had the pleasure of officiating Eureka JHS boys basketball in the Woodford County Tournament. The players showed respect to the officials by handing the ball back on any violation made. Their coach should be proud of their team in all aspects of the game of baseketball on and off the court."

Official Smith: "During a excellent match between two well discipline teams. The cheerleader from Eureka showed alot of respect for the officials by trying to stay clear of players and officials during the action in a small out of bounds area. As an official, I thank the Eureka Cheerleaders for the great job of cheering and staying out of the area of play."

Official VanDeller: "I was an official for two games between Martino JHS and Mokena JHS. Both schools coaches and players exhibited great sportsmanship and respect toward their opponents and the officials. It was a pleasure to be able to officiate the game involving these two schools. I wish more shcools had coaches and players taht exhibited such positive attitudes and respect for the game and the way basketball is supposed to be played."

Official Birckelbaw: "I had the pleasure in working the boys 7th grade regional at Heyworth. The two schools involved in the game were Blue Ridge and LeRoy. It was a 3OT game, with LeRoy winning 55-54. It was the most fun I had officiating a game this year. The players, coaches and fans for both sides were fantastic to work in front of. The boys played their hearts out and the display of sportsmanship throughout the game was perfect. I think that everyone in attendance of that game left with a good feeling, no matter the outcome."

Official Blade: "I would like to make a few comments on the 8AAA boys sectional at Marshall. Andy Pullen and I had this game and considered it to be very good jr high game to be involved in. With Casey being undefeated and Teutopolis' only loss to Casey earlier in the year we thought we should have a hotly contested game. As it turned into a 15-20 point game the athletes still competed and showed exemplar sportsmanship. On more than one occasion we had players on the floor going after loose balls or after fouls. On every occasion a member of the Casey team was helping up a T-town player or vice-versa. A great display of sportsmanship and respect for an opponent. The coaches were coaching and the fans were enjoying the very competitive game while showing a great deal of sportsmanship themselves. As officials we could wish all games resulted in this type of competition and atmosphere."

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Official Franklin: "Last week I officiated a match at Shabbona Junior High in Morris. Their opponent was ICS, also from Morris. Since Morris is such a small town, many of the players know each other. They have a very intense rivalry and are typically very evenly matched. The first thing that got my attention that night was the fact that Shabbona players had decorated the gym with big orange ribbons to raise awareness for luekemia because the ICS coach’s brother-in-law was just diagnosed with the disease. The match proved to be a very competitive and closely contested match. When all the dust settled, ICS was the winner. But what happened after the match almost brought me to tears. All of the players and coaches from both schools got into a big huddle and did a cheer together. I know ICS was happy to win the match and Shabbona was not happy to have lost the match but the girls knew that the outcome was not as important as their sportsmanship and friendship. I credit the coaches of both schools for this. Susan Munson (Shabbona) and Melissa Feeney (ICS) set a great example of what school sports are suppose to be all about."

Mokena Administration "I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about the impression that I had of your school and your 7th grade girls volleyball team last night at the IESA Sectional at Mokena last night. The girls seem to be a wonderful group and it was sad to see either one of the teams lose. Unfortunately, they ran up against a team that has a "never say die" attitude. Summit Hill Junior High is in our conference and that is the reputation that they have always had. Either one of the teams would have been a fantastic representative to send down to State. Having said that, I have to say that your fans put the "fan" in fantastic. It was great to see the stands filled with purple. Often times I have found that when you get a group together like that they can get out of control very quickly, but that was not the case last night. I really appreciated the fact that they truly cheered for Manteno and not against Summit Hill or spent time yelling at the officials. They represented your school very well. I don't know how you and your staff are able to instill so much school spirit, but it was great to see. It was something that did not go unnoticed by me or the principal from Summit Hill."

Official Ming "An outstanding job of coaching all season by 8th grade volleyball coach Veronica Salazar. In a schoool district that deosn not have any real park district volleyball program to introduce girls to volleybal, Veronica took a group of girls with little experience and molded them into a great group of young athletes. In a season ending tournament, her team lost to the conference leader for a chance to go to the championship game. Instead of hanging their heads, Coach Salazar had these girls ready to play a 3rd place match. Never once was there anything other than positive coaching and encouragement from Coach Salazar and the leadership and positive enbergy made what could have been a disappointing loss into something these girls could be proud of. It was really a great display of making this game fun and enjoyable season for a group of young athletes."