Poor sportsmanship...

This weekend Fullerton College competed in The 14th Annual Women's Water Polo Tournament hosted by Mt. Sac. Because of the talent that we have on our team and the great coaching staff that comes along with it; we have a target on our backs. Every team is out to get us and win. However, there have been plenty of teams that have put up a good fight but did not get the ending result that they originally set out to get.

For example, yesterday we played a team (I will not mention the name) and they resorted to trying to physically abuse us during our game. Do not get me wrong water polo is a very physical sport and we must play with aggression. On the other hand, aggression and intentionally hurting someone is completely different! Once that team learned that there was no way we were going to let them back into the game, they started taking cheap shots at us. Throat checking us left and right, kicking us in the face/chest, and punching/elbowing us in the face every chance they got.

Likewise, there was another team today that we played which also lost to us. Instead of just shaking our hands and saying saying "good game" at the end like we do; this team decided to spit into their hands. We had to shake their hands and ended up with all of their germs and saliva in our hands. Not only is that disgusting but it is very uncalled for. Some teams are just better or play better on any given day and they deserve credit for it. Today, we lost our first game and our first loss of the season and none of us would have even thought of doing something like that to the other team. The other team out played us and there is nothing wrong with giving them the credit in which they deserve.

I think the bad sportsmanship has a lot to do with the coaching staff. I believe that some coaches encourage their players to play in such a manner. Our coaching at Fullerton College would never allow us to play down to their level. We are better than that and I want to commend our water polo team for showing that we have more class than that. We win with class and lose with class.

Until my fingers meet the keys, Amber