Character Counts! in Glenview Sports

Glenview youth sporting organizations, clubs, and associations (Glenview Sports) will pursue Victory with Honor through the Six Pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS! and the Gold Medal Standards for Youth Sports. Glenview Sports recognize that youth sports programs should be designed to provide a sporting environment that is safe and fosters the opportunities to have fun, build character, learn and practice sportsmanship and develop skills for pursuing healthy, ethical and responsible adult lives.

As a Glenview youth sports organization, club or association, your child’s Glenview Sports organization and team have agreed to empower its team participants, coaches, trainers, staff and parents through adherence to the Six Pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS! When you become a Titan, you affirm that you and your athlete have reviewed this statement of CHARACTER COUNTS! and agree to abide by the terms of this statement at all times while participating in Glenview Sports.

Glenview Sports Responsibilities

It is within the mission statement of Glenview Sports to provide a fun, safe and positive environment for the learning and practice of athletic and sporting activity. The mission of Glenview Sports further includes the goals of developing good character, teaching positive life skills, promoting physical fitness and healthy choices and teaching good sportsmanship. Glenview Sports are designed around and for the child, require basic education for all volunteer participants, coaches, trainers and other staff and more advanced training, including positive coaching programs, for all applicable. Negative coaching will not be tolerated and the emotional and physical well-being of the child participant will always be a guiding principle in all Glenview Sports activities.

Parental Responsibilities

Parents of participants in Glenview Sports will become aware of and abide by the Glenview Sports’ mission statement, policies and procedures. Parents will conduct themselves in a civil, responsible, ethical and fair manner. Parents will exhibit positive role modeling, will refrain from negative behavior, and will equally support all members of the team. Parents will further provide guidance for constructive attitudes and expectations. Parents will also encourage children to serve as role models in accord with the Six Pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS.

Six Pillars of Character Counts! in Glenview Sports

It is the responsibility of every teammate, participant, volunteer, coach, trainer and parent to abide by the Six Pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS! in all sporting activities.

1. Trustworthiness: It is a goal of Glenview Sports to promote trustworthiness among players of their board, volunteers, teammates, trainers, coaches, parents and officiating staff by:
   • Always pursuing victory with honor;
   • Demonstrating and demanding integrity;
   • Observing and enforcing the spirit and letter of the rules of the game;
   • Not compromising education and character-development goals; and
   • Not engaging in or tolerating dishonesty, cheating or dishonorable conduct.
     
     
2. Respect: The respect expected in ordinary life in the classroom or business office shall be the norm on the playing and the practice fields. Reasonable people have reasonable differences and mutual respect provides the basis of expressing these differences. The coach’s role as teacher is to give clear positive instructions to the players. Parents are expected to respectfully express any alternative views at an appropriate manner and time off the field and away from the participants. It is a goal of Glenview Sports to promote respect among players for the game, for their teammates, for opposing players, for the coaching staff and for the officiating staff through:
• Treating the traditions of the sport and other participants with respect;
• Not engaging in or tolerating disrespectful conduct, including verbal abuse of opponents, officials, teammates, coaching staff or others, taunting, profane or belligerent “trash talking,” or excessive and unseemly celebrations; and
• Winning with grace and losing with dignity.
  
  
3. Responsibility: Every parent, player, participant and volunteer or staff member of Glenview Sports is responsible for his or her own words and actions. They will further demonstrate responsibility for the environment by insuring that the practice fields and game fields are left in a clean and safe manner. Parents are expected to further demonstrate responsibility by having his/her child at practice and at games on time and prepared. Players are to be equally responsible for coming to practice and games prepared and ready to participate. Glenview Sports and all of their participants will further pursue the pillar of responsibility by:
• Being positive role models on and off the field;
• Furthering the mental, social and moral development of athletes and teaching life skills that enhance personal success and social responsibility; and
• Maintaining competence including basic knowledge of character building, first aid and safety and coaching principles, rules and strategies.
  
  
4. Fairness: It is the goal of Glenview Sports to promote fairness among the players and to provide a fair playing environment by:
• Adhering to high standards of fair play;
• Treating players fairly according to their abilities;
• Never taking an unfair advantage; and
• Being open minded.
  
  
5. Caring: It is the goal of Glenview Sports to promote caring in the sports environment so as to provide a situation in which coaching, officiating, and parent involvement will demonstrate compassion, sensitivity and volunteerism as a model for team members, including:
• Assuring that the academic, emotional, physical and moral well-being of athletes is always placed above desires and pressures to win.
  
  
6. Citizenship: Glenview Sports is opposed to bullying, hazing, teasing and other conduct that degrades good citizenship. Through the commitment to the six pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS! it is the goal of Glenview Sports to promote citizenship among all of its participants such that all team members, staff and parents will act in accordance with the values of good citizenship by:
   • Avoiding gamesmanship and promoting sportsmanship by honoring the rules and goals of the sport;
   • Establishing codes of conduct for coaches, athletes, parents and spectators;
   • Safeguarding the health of athletes and the integrity of the sport by prohibiting the use of alcohol and tobacco on and around the fields of play; and
   • Demanding compliance with all laws and regulations, including those relating to gambling and the use of drugs.

Parents Checklist

1. Maintain a "Fun is #1" attitude.
2. Praise girls for just participating, regardless of their athletic skills.
3. Look for positives in the girls: avoid ridicule or sarcasm.
4. Don't be obessed with your involvement in sports.
5. There is life after sports.
6. Treat others as you wish to be treated.
7. Remain calm when mistakes are made, and help the girls learn from mistakes.
8. Maintain a sense of humor.
9. Help girls from getting down on themselves when things don't go well.
10. Emphasize teamwork in team sports:
    • teach them to think "We instead of Me".
11. Lead by example in Sportsmanship
    • Accept winning without gloating,
    • Accept losing without complaining and without criticizing coaches or umpires!