I happened to witness the Hampton Park vs Oakwood Christian girls high school match last night. Before the match, both teams met at center circle and Hampton Park's coach made some welcoming remarks and led the girls in prayer.
The score of the match was fairly lopsided but I noticed the score didn't matter to either team. Even though one team was being soundly defeated, there were plenty of shouts of encouragement from fellow players and the coaching staff - and there was laughter and smiles from both teams.
There were a few inadvertent fouls called on both teams but not many - I heard teammates from both teams asking the other team members if they were ok, after having been fouled. There were no cards shown and no whining at the refs. No parents coaching from the sidelines or "making their feelings known". After the game, each team member shook hands with the other team.
It was an afternoon of playing sports for the sheer fun of being out on the field. I could not have been more impressed with the kids from both teams as well as the coaches.
In retrospect, it would seem that the singular act of both teams circling at midfield prior to the game with a sincere prayer led by a coach set the tone for the entire evening. For me, it was a perfect example of what's right and wrong in sports today.
