Games That Inspire a Good Attitude

Sports can imbue good qualities into people of all ages. Because sportsmen and sportswomen will have to deal with disappointments in their careers, this will often help to give them humility. But there are some sports, both team and individual, which by themselves help to teach good values to those who play them.

  1. Golf

    • Sportsmanship has always been very important in golf. Though the prize money for winning major tournaments is huge, the ethos of fair play still persists. This is also true when the U.S. plays against Europe in the Ryder Cup. If a player has a very short putt to make, an opponent on the other side will nearly always concede. Fair play is also generally practiced by spectators, who are expected to remain silent when a player is preparing to hit the ball.

    Cricket

    • Fair play is a tenet which has always been associated with cricket. It's still expected that when a batsman is caught, but is not given out by an unsighted umpire, he should depart the field voluntarily. Abusing the umpire after a bad decision is very rare in this game. Though standards of fair play were higher a few decades ago, it is still arguably the team game that has the highest ethical code. Cricket is a game that helps a cricketer be respectful of opponents and officials alike.

    Lawn Tennis

    • Though a fiercely competitive sport, lawn tennis still retains a lot of the ethics of its amateur days. When a player hits a fortunate winner, particularly via the ball hitting the top of the net and falling in, then the opponent will normally get an apology. The same is true when a player accidentally strikes the ball at an opponent. After a combative game, players will shake hands, which is an example of sports at its most impressive. It is an example of playing hard, but of acting in a dignified manner when the match is over.

    Field Hockey

    • A hard, physical game, field hockey hardly ever sees a player show dissent to an official, or act in a violent manner toward an opponent. With physical contact, players using hard sticks and a hard ball, the fact that the officials' jobs are made so easy is a credit to the game. The players tend to just concentrate on playing the game, and this makes it a game that is also a good advertisement for sports as a whole.