The BAYS Sportsmanship Award is presented each season to teams selected by the Sportsmanship Award Committee from a pool of submissions received from members of the BAYS community.

After reviewing all the submissions, the committee selected Sudbury Storm (Boys Grade 3) as one of the two winners. The Storm was coached last fall by Jeff Childs, Tom Haff and Sonny Parente.

Reason for the nomination:  The Sudbury Storm were down by multiple goals for most of the game and it's much more difficult to foster a positive and fun environment for the kids when they are behind.

In one play, Sudbury won possession near the midline. One of the opposing players seemed to trip over his laces as he was running after the ball. The Sudbury team brought the ball in the penalty area while his opponent stayed on the ground near the half, smiling up at the sky. One of the Sudbury boys looked over, saw his opponent on the ground, and left the penalty area to run over to help him. He held out his hand to him and proceeded to pull him up. Once up, the Sudbury player then pulled his opponent in for a hug and patted him on his back to make him feel better.

It was such a sweet and genuine moment between two opposing players. Instead of telling their player to "play the whistle" like we usually hear from coaches, especially when the ball is bouncing around in front of the goal, the Sudbury coach clapped and called out, "Aw, great job! Way to hug it out!" It was such a great display of sportsmanship that was celebrated by the coaches. In another play, Sudbury had players lined up to sub during a corner kick. Before the kick could be taken, the referee blew the whistle and told one of the players to tie his shoes.

Apparently, a lot of players had untied shoes because it seemed like most of them bent over. The boys weren't just tying their own shoes but helping other players with theirs. All the while, the Sudbury players and coach waited patiently at the half to get them into the game. After the game, the Sudbury coaches could be heard telling their players how great they played, continuing the upbeat and positive feedback. Both teams went through the handshake line congratulating one another, smiles on all their faces.

Congrats to all Storm coaches and players on this well-deserved award. The entire Sudbury Soccer community couldn’t be prouder of you!