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Sportsmanship For All Ages
Two Books That Can Change Amateur Sports Culture
As adult role models, we want our young athletes to learn about sportsmanship, overcome adversity, and achieve emotional growth—but are we teaching them the right lessons?
#SPORTSMANSHIP: Go Viral With it! and GAMEDAY! Winning With Sportsmanship: The Gary GoodSport Story, are valuable resources for anyone interested in helping to stamp out unsportsmanlike behavior, encourage youth leadership, and foster an environment where positivity can thrive.
With entertaining anecdotes, important insight, expert advice, and real-world solutions for becoming an agent of change, #Sportsmanship will help any parent, coach, or role model demonstrate and encourage humility and good sportsmanship—both on and off the field. GAMEDAY is a short children's story (ages 6-9) that teaches kids to put aside their fears, trust the process, battle through adversity, and that one can compete successfully with good sportsmanship. Parents will also get the message of their role in the raising of a good sport.
Praise For These Books
“#SPORTSMANSHIP: Go Viral With It! is an educational and fun read for any parent, fan, coach, or teacher involved in youth athletics. Jeff’s unique perspective from his 15-year career as an official includes many great stories for all of us to absorb and apply as we watch our kids play.
The first lesson we learned in our early days of youth sports was that after each game, we had to “go shake their hands and tell them good game.” It all started when we were young, and it is still a great piece of advice today. Thanks, Jeff, for the insight and reminder of why we need to take this message ‘viral.’”
GAMEDAY! I don’t know many people who have officiated, refereed or umpired more than games than Jeff. Across all sports, he has seen it all in one for or the other. Game Day is the result of his vast experience. Game Day emphasizes the importance of showing, teaching and demonstrating good sportsmanship to our kids for their future success. We are role models whether we like it or not. Every message we send is received. Game Day is a wonderful example of the many lessons that are learned by everyone in the heat of the competition. Jeff is faithfully sharing his experience so we can all be great leaders and good sports. Enjoy Game Day, it’s why we practice !!
— Bill Severns, former professional baseball player and author of Keepers of the Sandlot
#Sportsmanship: Go Viral With It!: “Sports is life with the volume turned up. Sports rely on the men, women, and young people who serve as the officials to ensure the games we play are safe and fair and have outcomes we can believe in. A lack of sportsmanship by coaches and fans, especially at the youth level, is the #1 reason why officials quit. This book shows a way forward, a way that enables us to enjoy athletic competition, play them by the rules, and show commitment to competing in an honorable way.”
GAMEDAY! Winning With Sportsmanship: A very fine piece of work! The words and the graphics tell a powerful story with the emphasis on fair play and being a good sport. This is especially noteworthy when it comes to accepting what a referee does when the call does not go “your way.” That is a key lesson for life.
— Barry Mano, President, National Association of Sports Officials
“In #Sportsmanship—Go Viral With It!, veteran official and author Jeff Eckert shares his personal experience with stories from various levels that depict insightful and often comical narratives about sportsmanship challenges. The game-time scenarios add perspective to the educational value of the book and engage the reader with each story by providing a road map for athletes, coaches, parents, fans, and officials. The KSHSAA hopes all readers will find connection points from these stories and better understand that appropriate sportsmanship #StartsWithMe.”
— Bill Faflick, Executive Director, Kansas State High School Activities Association
Be a Mentor, not a "Wreck it Ralph"!
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