Florida School Boards, District Superintendents, and High School Athletics Association Join Forces to Teach Florida Children Good Sportsmanship.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida School Boards Association (FSBA), the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS), and the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) have teamed up to combat the epidemic of poor sportsmanship and bad behavior seen in organized sports.

The coalition today launched a Sportsmanship Initiative targeted initially to students in elementary schools using the STAR Sportsmanship program offered by Learning Through Sports, Birmingham, Ala.

"Every day our children see examples of poor sportsmanship and bad behavior on television, in our youth sports activities and in many facets of life," said FHSAA Commissioner John Stewart during the program's kickoff. "Today, our leadership organizations have come together to deliver alternative education solutions to address the need to teach our children about positive behaviors and good sportsmanship on and off the field."

Added Dr. David Mosrie, FADSS executive director: "As our schools focus on teaching about reading, math and the other core subjects, we haven't lost sight of the importance of positive behavioral skills being critical to our success as educators. This coalition of leaders, with the support of businesses and athletes, will allow STAR Sportsmanship to be used by Florida children at home or school. The positive effects will ripple through all facets of our society."

The coalition will ask professional athletes in Florida to contribute their positive messages for a Florida-specific version of STAR Sportsmanship, said Dr. Wayne Blanton, FSBA executive director. "Our children look up to the professional athletes from our state and they are great role models with a powerful influence. We want to use their influence to positively impact children by sending the right message about being a good sport."

The initiative is designed to bring STAR Sportsmanship -- a web-based role-playing computer program (www.learningthroughsports.com) -- to Florida's school children. With STAR, children are taught to STOP before making an unwise decision, THINK how their actions affect themselves and others, ACT promptly to demonstrate good sportsmanship and REPLAY how they handled the situation and learn from it. Also included are motivational messages about good behavior from sports celebrities. The program will be offered in three versions -- elementary, middle and high school. Each will focus on specific issues facing students.

The program was conceived by founder and CEO of Learning Through Sports, Brian Shulman, a former captain for the 1988 SEC champion Auburn football team.

Through the financial contributions of the Southeastern Conference and the Mountain West Conference, free access was provided to more than 75,000 children, said Shulman. Florida businesses and athletic organizations can help support STAR through the STAR Partners Program which will allow access to all Florida students.