Blue Devils Win Section XI Sportsmanship Awards

Several Huntington High School spring season athletic teams won Section XI Sportsmanship Awards as determined by the compilation of ratings submitted by the respective league coaches.

The award recipients were announced this month following a final determination of ratings. Coaches submit the ratings after each athletic contest. Teams are rated for the conduct of players, coaches and fans. Coaches also rate the officials working each of the contests.

The award winning teams and their coaches include: Varsity boys’ badminton and varsity girls’ badminton coached by Alexander Nelson and Andrew Marlow. Varsity girls’ lacrosse coached by Catherine Reilly, Christopher Taylor and Lauren Blackburn. J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys’ track and field coached by Christopher Helmke and Jonathan Garland.

Suffolk athletic directors were given certificates for each of the award winning teams. The Huntington UFSD athletic program has put a premium on sportsmanship.

The Blue Devil athletic program’s philosophy includes the following statement: “Our athletic program seeks to reflect our educational program as we nurture a culture of hard work, discipline and desire while valuing and respecting our teammates, opponents, coaches, officials and fans.”

Among the 15 “Huntington Athletic Priorities” are the following related to sportsmanship:

• To emphasize the proper ideals of sportsmanship, ethical conduct and fair play.

• To establish a healthy relationship between visitors and hosts.

• To remember that an athletic contest is a game and not a matter of life or death for player, coach, school, official, fan, community, state or nation.

Among the program’s seven core values is the following:

• We play by the rules and act with integrity, honesty and personal responsibility in everything we do.