Priorities – Do We Develop Talent or Character First

by, Dan Salzwedel, NMAA Executive Director

Whatever time I have, I occasionally enjoy working in the garden, seeing things grow and nurturing some sensitive plants as well as weeding out that growth considered undesirable to the plants we intend to harvest or view for enjoyment at a later date. The latter has caused me on many occasions to think of parallels in interscholastic activities-and there are many.

At first blush, weeding out undesirable elements and weeds within the garden of interscholastic activities is principal to the role and assigned within the NMAA, as well as being a big part of what administrators and athletic directors do in our state. In fact, it goes to the heart of what interscholastic activities are all about and the responsibilities each of us have in assuring that breadth of depth of activities in perspective remain free from contaminants that take us away from the value education premise.

In activities, we learn to work hard to nurture a good crop with a view toward realizing gains or success/values that assist students measurably in being successful later on in life. The latter would include but are not necessarily confined to time management, goals setting, perseverance, the work ethic, winning with class and losing with dignity, among a thousand others. It has also occurred to me on numerous occasions that we tend to give more credence to those things that are not necessarily good for the development or the growth of the intended crop. Specifically weeds become more important than the beautiful flower or vegetable we intend to achieve at the culminating point of this experience. You see, at times, our actions determine that winning, or scholarships or trophies are more important than character development and nurturing the success traits kids need to achieve later on in life. We often have to be reminded that activities are extensions of the classroom and must be kept in perspective.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “the development of talent often supersedes the growth of character.” To place the development of a player or participant in a non-athletic or performance activity ahead of character development is an injustice to our process and represents a very shallow understanding of our impact on kids later on in life. As the values survey indicates, the real impact upon students is not immediate, but ten or more years away from that experience. When winning (or scholarships, Olympic development or whatever we make our principal focus of attention) becomes paramount, then perspective is obviously lost in the process. Trying to win should be a part of everyone’s repertoire, but not the only thing).

The contaminants (weeds) in our garden are superficial measures of success; coaches getting players from other districts or schools to move into their attendance areas (no matter how we disguise it); discouraging students from participating in other activities during the summer; or rationalizing away behavior that is not necessarily reflective of the interscholastic objective during contests, games, etc. These contaminants discourage the growth and/or development of the flower, or plant if you will, as part of the character development process.

Being able to realize and visualize the future of a student and the impact that the activity and that we as adults have on students for years to come, is reflective of the immediate gratification you achieve from the harvesting of a garden. Our garden is interscholastic activities. Water it, weed out those undesirable thoughts and deeds, and realize that everything that you do or say will have an effect upon that young person’s behavior later on in life.