Katy Graham (R) displays her skills for FC San Diego.

I want to talk to you about the six pillars of character, a subject matter that I know you all are all familiar. The six pillars -- made up of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship -- are all important when it comes to displaying good sportsmanship on the soccer field. I think that sometimes good sportsmanship can be something we forget about in the heat of the competition and it’s good to remind ourselves of the importance of being a good sport.

Having good sportsmanship means trusting that your teammates and coach will be giving 100 percent during practice and games. It also means making sure that they can trust that you will do the same. A good sport shows respect for their coach, teammates, opponents and officials and has a responsibility to their team and coach to go to practice and skills clinics and to always play their best.

Fairness is another important part of sportsmanship. Every player should play fair and by the rules. Nobody likes a cheater. Players need to also be caring and considerate towards, not only their own teammates, but their opponents as well. 

Encourage your teammates to play hard and display good citizenship both on an off the soccer field.  Remember, we are all representatives of our individual clubs, especially when we are wearing our uniform or logo clothing. 

Katy Graham goes in for the goal.

So, keeping the pillars of character in mind, I asked my coach and teammates what they thought it meant to be a good sport and here is what a few of them said:

“[Good sportsmanship] is clapping for the parents after the game, shaking hands with the officials after a game and respecting the calls the officials make during the game. It means being truthful to yourself and your teammates.”
– Coach Mark Sidebottom

“[Good sportsmanship] is respecting your teammates and the other team. Not talking back to your coach or the officials.”
– Teammate Allyson Pierick

“Being a good sport means playing hard in games, and congratulating the other team whether you win or lose.”
– Teammate Mackenzie Osther

Until next month when I share with you about the first pillar of character, which is trustworthiness, play hard and remember that character counts both on and off the soccer field.

Do you or someone you know want to become an SN youth reporter? Submit a writing sample to erin@soccernation.com for review.   We look forward to hearing from you!  Thanks!