All winter sports athletes attended the mandatory Positive Coaching Alliance assembly lead by PCA spokesperson Kathy Toon, on Nov 27.

The assembly was intended to teach the athletes about sportsmanship.

Varsity soccer captain, junior Kesy Platt said sportsmanship determines the level and pace of the game. She said there is less sportsmanship at higher and more competitive levels because players will go to extremes to win the game.

Our school has never addressed the concept of ‘sportsmanship’ comprehensively in, Principal Rich Kitchens’ 34 years here.

“We want all of our athletes to get the message of how to become a ‘Triple Impact’ athlete, one who respects and works hard for him or herself, one who makes their teammates better, and one who ‘respects the game’ and makes the game itself better,” said Kitchens.

Toon has a master’s degree in sports psychology, coached basketball at UC Berkeley for 14 years and won coach of the year for basketball. She works with athletes and teams in the fields of sports psychology, nutrition and physical conditioning.

Toon started off by showing four pictures of athletes in action on the screen numbered one through four. There were also numbers one through four around the gym and she told all the students to go to whichever number of the picture that they thought showed competition. One person from each number group spoke of why they were at that number.

“I think the assembly was a waste of time and money. All of us already know the importance of sportsmanship and I don’t think the assembly changed anybody’s opinion about it. I don’t think very many people took it seriously”, junior soccer captain Matt Baringer said,

The assembly was mandatory for all winter sports athletes. The assembly will also be put together for the Spring and Fall sports in the future.

Kitchens said, “Some athletes I have spoken with were very respectful of the message, enjoyed the presenter, and got something out of the discussion. Others who were not very attentive missed out on some key ideas that can help themselves and their team.”

Toon expressed the importance of doing one’s best multiple times. She also asked, “What kind of school do you want? What do you want to be known for?”

“In terms of sports, I want our school to be known for being clean, respectful and fair, but a team that’s fights hard to win games,” said Platt

“I am hoping our athletes see the “big picture” of their impact, every time they do anything, and how their actions reflect on PHS. For now, and forever,”Kitchens said.