Promotion: Use Performance Statistics to Improve Results Announcements

Dick Moss, Editor, Physical Education Update

Winning isn't everything in scholastic sports, and your win/loss record may not be your primary criterion for success. Personal improvement, team cohesiveness, friendship and skill development are all factors that can make scholastic athletics satisfying.

However, outsiders usually do judge your success based on wins and losses. And for this reason, it can be discouraging--for both athletes and coaches--when less proficient teams must constantly broadcast losses on morning announcements.

There is an excellent way to avoid such discouraging publicity--announce the statistical highlights of the games from your stats sheets.

Announcements From Stats Sheets
For example, if your volleyball spiker made five kills, you could announce "Joanne Killingfist made five kills--an improvement of two kills from the last game!" Depending on your sport, other statistics you could mention include steals, rebounds, plus/minus average, foul-shooting percentage, successful digs--whatever you feel is important and appropriate.

If you adopt this approach, it's essential to have a team manager who's willing to record and compile team statistics and even make announcements. While this is a lot of work, it also provides an advantage to your managers, because it provides public awareness for their contributions to your team.

These announcements will shift the focus of attention away from winning and towards internal improvement and performance. And the mention of some of the subtleties of the game might cultivate additional interest among potential spectators.

Reference:This idea was taken from a conversation with Karen Briard of Harwood Special Vocational School in Ajax, Ontario.

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