High school sports provides positive learning environment

Albert College's Winston Chen defends against Greenwoods V. Flatt in boys high school basketball action. Greenwood went on to win the game 51-42.

In a world of professional sports that is so focused on winning and losing, covering high school sports has been a nice change.

The attitude is always positive. The players and coaches thoroughly enjoy what they do. Overall it provides a great, positive learning environment for the students as they try and learn the sport they love.

I realized the difference in the atmosphere this past week when I was covering a high school basketball game.

The game was in Belleville between Albert College and Greenwood College.

The two teams were evenly matched at the start but Albert College ended up losing 51-42. Full Game Story

The lost was their third of the season, dropping their record to 1-3.

After the game, I noticed a player sitting on the Albert bench. He seemed down and disappointed that his team had lost.

I approached him for an interview.

“What did you think of the game today?” I asked.

““It was very good, very intense and we played a great game,” the player responded.

After a few more questions, I asked him about their season.

“The season is going great, we are putting in a lot of effort and the games that we have won we have done a great job in,” he responded.

It was somewhat surprising that he wasn’t disappointed in the loss. In his mind, as long as the team tried their best and put in a good effort, he was happy.

The Albert College coach responded the exact same way.

She was positive and upbeat and commented on what her players did well.

“Tons and tons of learning today, she said. “We hadn’t played Greenwood yet, so it was good practice and a great learning experience.”

You would never expect a positive response from a coach who’s team just lost.

Then I though back on all of the interviews I have done with high school coaches and players this season. I couldn’t remember a single negative response.

Sure everyone likes to win but with high school sports, winning isn’t everything. It really only matters if you enjoyed the game, learned something new and had fun in the process.