COUGARS EARN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

Despite a rocky 1-7 start, the St. Charles Community College’s men’s baseball team rallied to a strong finish with a 13-12 run. While the overall play of the Cougars was inconsistent, their level of sportsmanship remained constant.

As a result of their respectful play, the 2006-07 Cougars won the Midwest Community College Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award. Each year, the MCCA Conference coaches give the Sportsmanship Award to the team that best adheres to ethical behavior and fair play rules.

Cougars Head Coach Chris Gober credits his team for winning the award, saying that the team was well-behaved and that they didn’t overreact to minor calls.

“We’ve never really argued balls and strikes,” Gober said. “In fact, in my nine years of coaching I’ve never been thrown out of a game. We just go out and play hard.”

The Cougars demonstrated their sportsmanlike behavior throughout the entire season. The team started 1-7, and at one point reached a record of 7-18. Even in those rough times, Gober said, the team still competed and never gave up against opponents.

Gober believes the turning point of the season came after a string of losses, dropping the team to a 4-15 record. Gober told the players to look inward and reflect upon their commitment. Gradually, everything clicked and the Cougars went on a 13-12 run at the end of the season and finished fourth at regionals with an overall record of 20-30.

Even in the mistake-ridden early season, the Cougars never took their frustrations out on opposing teams or umpires.

“Some of the best players I’ve coached are kids who can forget about their mistakes,” Gober said. “They don’t dwell on it, but instead, get over it and get ready to play again.”

Gober says the team always remained levelheaded; the Cougars understood sportsmanship and so does Gober.

“Sportsmanship is giving the best effort and playing the game how it should be played. If you go back and look at old highlight reels, old ball players didn’t show off,” Gober said. “When they hit a homerun, they ran around the bases. Nowadays, Major League players showboat and point to the sky and do some big celebration. That’s not the way to play the game.”

Gober says he’s proud of the team for winning the award. He hopes the 2007-08 team will continue to show good sportsmanship and be good competitors because, he says, sportsmanship is a valuable life lesson.

“When you play team sports, you may not always like everyone on the team… you may not like the calls that are made or how the other team treats you. That’s when you need to learn to be cooperative and a team player. Success on the field and in life calls for teamwork and hard work.”

The tryout for scholarship players begin August 20 and full team tryouts will be at 2:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Aug. 27-30.

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Last Updated: 7/30/07