Rector’s eNews 7 – 28 February 2024
/ UncategorizedWith the winter season almost upon us it seems opportune for me to write to you in connection with our approach to the games which we will soon have the privilege of watching in support of our boys.
With each passing year, the pressure on boys, coaches, referees and umpires grows. This is an international phenomenon and the personal comments levelled against some referees and players at the last Rugby World Cup are a sad indictment of the attitudes of those critics. Even at school level, the streaming or videoing of matches has led to heightened scrutiny of every match and every player even at a relatively modest level and we need to regain some sense of proportion on the place of our games relative to other aspects of peoples’ lives across the country.
We certainly want to perform at our best and we very definitely aim to prepare our boys in the most skilful way possible to play with pride and passion and to win our matches if we are able to, but we do not seek to win at all costs. We should celebrate all the opportunities our boys have to engage in competitive schoolboy sport but, at the same time, demonstrate the utmost respect for our referees, umpires and all the players – both our own and the opposition and we should encourage fellow spectators to conform to accepted standards of good conduct and the sort of behaviour which promotes excellent sportsmanship.
This means:
- We play with integrity, one of our core Michaelhouse values, following the rules of the game and accepting the decisions of referees, umpires and coaches. We understand that they are human and may make mistakes, but we accept that they operate with integrity.
- We remember that our boys are schoolboys, not professional sportsmen, and they are participating in sport principally for their enjoyment and well-being. On occasion they may be dropped from a team or not selected for a team and this needs to be seen in the context of their development as individuals: we do not always have our own way in life and need to deal with not succeeding at first.
- We acknowledge and appreciate the importance of coaches, managers, referees and umpires for sacrificing their time to make our games possible.
- We applaud good performances and efforts from all individuals and teams and congratulate all participants on their performance regardless of the game’s outcome as we expect our boys to do.
- During a short corner, penalty, conversion or similar situation, we understand the need for spectators be quiet and we ensure that courtesies are extended to both teams.
We do not:
- Embarrass young people through bad behaviour, abusive comments and sledging or harassing players, coaches or officials.
In short, we need to understand that encouragement is the most powerful agent of motivation and that our boys will perform at their best when they are supported and encouraged, but we also need to be gracious both in victory and defeat – hard though this may be at times. We look forward to the coming winter season!
Towards the end of last week, forty to fifty of our boys succumbed to a bout of gastro-enteritis. This “tummy bug” was not confined to Michaelhouse but was more general in the Nottingham Road area. It is not thought that this has anything at all to do with our catering, but nevertheless as a precaution food samples have been sent off for laboratory testing. Thankfully most of our boys were only affected for about 48 hours and are now “back on their feet”.
I make a plea annually to parents that, in the interests of safeguarding our boys, you inform us of any specialist coaching or extra lessons your son may be having with teachers/coaches who are not otherwise employed by Michaelhouse. We can then ensure that the appropriate police checks are done in order to minimise risk to your son and the other boys at the school. Thank you.
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