Sport At Its Best

Mr. Little was a teacher and volleyball coach at Bridlewood Junior Public School when I was a student there in the late ‘70’s. What was so cool (and for me there isn’t a more apt word than ‘cool’) about Mr. Little was that he was actually a volleyball referee at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Montreal was my first exposure to the Olympics and immediately it had a powerful effect on me. To this day I can clearly remember watching many of the events including Nadia Comaneci getting her perfect 10′s in gymnastics and Bruce Jenner winning the decathlon. I can also remember the high jump in which fellow Canadian Greg Joy won a silver medal behind Jacek Wszola of Poland but ahead of the heavily favored Dwight Stones of the United States. Watching those and many other events, I knew somehow I wanted to be a part of that.  I didn’t even care what sport it would be in – they were all great.

At the time you can imagine what it was like for us on the volleyball team having a coach that had played such an important role in that event. It was pretty special.  During one particular practice we were arguing as to whether a ball was in or out when Mr. Little called us over and told us about a match at the Olympics in which he had been a backup referee sitting at the official’s table immediately adjacent to the court.

As the story goes, there was a rally that ended when one team spiked the ball toward the opposing team’s baseline. Although very close to the line, the ball was out but was incorrectly called in by the line judge. The player that hit the ball actually went to the referee and explained that he had hit the ball out and that the call should be reversed. At which point a player on the opposing team, having overheard this, stepped forward and stated that he had touched the ball on the way out and that therefore the call was correct. I don’t know if Mr. Little actually said it or not but his inference was that the player who claimed to have touched the ball, hadn’t.

“The player that hit the ball actually went to the referee and explained that he had hit the ball out and that the call should be reversed.”

Whether he had or hadn’t, the interpretation is the same. There was respect for the opponent and the game and the process to the extent that both players were willing to give up a point they felt they hadn’t earned. I don’t believe Mr. Little specifically stated whom the teams involved were but I understood that they were elite teams of the competition who were vying for medals.

I don’t remember how we did as a team that year or even if we won a single game, but I remember that story. Being so enthralled by the Olympics and hearing a first-hand account from someone who was not just there, but an integral part of it, was extremely impactful to me. I remember thinking at the time ‘this must be how Olympians act’ and I still feel the story is an illustration of sport at it’s absolute best. The athletes Mr. Little talked about clearly had a great deal of respect for the game, the officials, their opponents and the process. And it’s also a great expression of the value they placed on the relationship between how hard you work for something and your own personal satisfaction. On their respective journeys to the medal podium, neither wanted to accept a single point that wasn’t earned.

This story remains an inspiration for me and in part, as a way of honoring Mr. Little and other great role models I have had and continue to have in my life, I’ve decided to call this blog Sport At It’s Best. It’s just one story, but I think it’s a great one. Hopefully it’s also a good jumping off point for a discussion about attitudes and values, and more specifically how attitudes and values can play a significant role in the development and ultimate success of an athlete. My belief is that it was no coincidence that the athletes in Mr. Little’s story were world leading athletes vying for medals at an Olympic Games.

Attitude and success go hand in hand.

Thanks for reading.