This past week the 29th annual Sportsmanship Summit, hosted by Gillette Stadium took place. The event highlights the importance of teaching sportsmanship, motivation, and the value of leadership at the high school level.
Upon arrival, students were greeted by the Leaders of the MIAA and other members of the MIAA board. The award ceremony was then held for the winners of the writing competition and the video presentation about how we as students can use social media to make a positive impact and promote sportsmanship to fellow teammates, coaches, and players. The next awards that were given include the District Sportsmanship Award, the Ron Burton Community Service Award, and the William N. Gaine Junior Sportsmanship Award.
Soon after the presentation concluded the students were placed into breakout groups. During these presentations, they were introduced to a few MIAA officials who gave them insight into the mindset of being officials in high school and college athletics. Once this session was over the students were given the first of two presentations by Mark Leinweaver, this presentation was on jobs in the sports industry and how to acquire said jobs. This gave the students insight into networking and understanding the importance of being aggressive to get what they wanted. Leinweavers second presentation was about the importance of character and how being a good human being is essential to success.
Overall, the Sportsmanship Summit is an incredibly important and informative experience for high school athletics. This workshop strives to create and promote positivity as well as leadership throughout athletic competition here in Massachusetts.
