sportsmanship

Closely Watched, High School Rivals Face off in Arlington

By Gretchen R. Crowe
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 1/11/07)

ARLINGTON — Two school rivals were closely monitored on Sunday as they went head-to-head in varsity basketball action when Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington hosted Fairfax’s Paul VI Catholic High School in both boys’ and girls’ match-ups (see story on page 30).
The last time these two schools faced off was at a Nov. 3 football game when O’Connell rushed the field after its win, ending up at Paul VI’s sideline where a shoving match ensued. Since then, the two schools have taken extra precautions to ensure there is no repeat offense.
The Paul VI girls defeated O’Connell 74-46 in Sunday’s first game, with the O’Connell boys getting even with a 68-56 win.
The fans’ behavior rated “95 percent positive” according to O’Connell Principal Dick Martin. The grade-A manners were a result of both O’Connell and Paul VI principals meeting with their respective student bodies, including O’Connell’s “Spirit Club” and Paul VI’s “Sixth Man,” as well as both teams’ cheerleaders, to map out what is expected of the students at athletic events.
“The game needs to be the show, not the cheering,” said Paul VI Principal Ginny Colwell.
“Instead of focusing on the games they’re focusing on each other,” Martin said.
The meetings focused on substituting positive cheering for negative — eliminating cheering against opponents and increasing cheering for the fans’ own teams.
“We’re mainly concerned about the varsity basketball games,” Martin said, because of the proximity of the stands to the court and because both teams are equally competitive. “You have a tendency for people to get excited.”
“We’re just trying to get the students to know that we are opponents, not enemies,” said Colwell. “We all know each other and we are more alike than dissimilar.”
When Martin talked to his students “you could hear a pin drop,” he said. “I was very direct, as is my tendency to be.”
Martin added that he thinks students are influenced by the negative attitudes of some professional and college athletes.
“In a sense kids model all adult behavior,” he said. “In some circles it has become accepted.”
Following the November incident, Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. Timothy J. McNiff mailed a letter to parents about the “unacceptable lack of sportsmanship which resulted in intolerable behavior by both students and adults.” He also held a round table discussion Jan. 9 with principals of schools in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference to determine how “to promote behavior that we deem appropriate and acceptable,” he said.
“We need to better communicate and be more consistent with our kids about what our message is and I think they’ll follow,” he added.
Both schools pledged to amp up the number of administrators at upcoming athletic events.
“We will go to O’Connell, and when O’Connell plays here, O’Connell administration will come to PVI,” Collwell said.
On Sunday, O’Connell representatives dotted both ends of the gym in bright yellow STAFF jackets. Paul VI faculty and administration also donned yellow polo T-shirts to increase their visibility.
Martin said he thinks the outcome from November’s incident will be positive.
“I think we’ve all learned from it,” he said. “I think that everybody wants the same thing. We all want good conduct, good sportsmanship.”
Colwell said she wants visitors to Paul VI to feel like friends.
“We want everyone who comes into our gym to feel comfortable and we want to feel that way,” she said. “High school sports should be something we all enjoy.”

Gretchen R. Crowe can be reached at gcrowe@catholicherald.com.