The Federal League Sportsmanship Award, a prestigious award for those who attain it, is voted on by each school and given to the school that has earned the most votes. For the past two years, Lake has received the award.
Superintendent Mr. Michael Gallina said that Lake deserves the awards.
“I think Lake has taken it upon themselves to be the best hosts that they can be whenever they have home events,” Gallina said. “They go above and beyond to make visitors feel welcome.”
Senior Erica Cornell, who is part of the Viking Huddle, an organization dedicated to improving the sportsmanship of Hoover and its athletes, hopes that Hoover will win the Federal League Sportsmanship Award this year.
“I think that it would mean a lot to Hoover if we won the Federal League Sportsmanship Award,” she said. “We’ve been working so hard to resolve bad sportsmanship. It would be great if all of our hard work paid off.”
Athletic Director Mr. Don Shimek said that Hoover could improve its chances of winning this award by being gracious and showing good sportsmanship at all times.
“In order to win the Federal League Sportsmanship Award, Hoover athletes have to exhibit good sportsmanship every time they’re on the field,” Shimek said. “They have to play hard, but they have to play hard the right way.”
Gallina agreed.
“Hoover would have to have coaches and players display great sportsmanship, integrity and ethics, as well as to have their fans and student body do the same,” he said. “This is all taken into account when the vote is taken in the spring.”
Although the Federal League Sportsmanship Award is an honor to receive, Shimek said the award is an outgrowth of the Federal League All-Sports trophy. A school that has collected the most points over a school year by winning games wins the all-sports trophy.
“The Federal League has been doing the Federal League All-Sports Trophy since 1987,” Shimek said. “Hoover has won it nine times, and more importantly, we’ve won it seven times in the last nine years. This shows the strength of our teams and our community over a long period of time.”
Also, the entire league can earn the Harold A. Meyer Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award. Gallina commented on how the league could win this award.
“In order to win this award, the league will need to work through a process that is similar to a grant,” he said. “We would have to demonstrate and show much evidence that we meet each criterion in the award’s booklet.”
Shimek said that many people from every team in the Federal League must work together in order to win the Harold A. Meyer Award. Cornell also said that a proper attitude must demonstrated inside and outside of the league.
“[Whether] we’re competing inside or outside of the league, we need to show respect for the other teams,” she said. “The Federal League has to show integrity and honor on and off the field.”