WESTBROOK — For the fourth season in a row, the Westbrook High School girls’ tennis team has been awarded the Class A South Good Sportsmanship Award by the Maine Principals Association.
“Our tennis team represents what’s great about Westbrook. You couldn’t ask for greater kids. They have won the academic excellence awards. They are scholars. They are athletes and they are public servants,” head coach Mike Makin said at the June 13 School Committee meeting.
“This is unprecedented in any sport. I can’t tell you how proud I am of them,” Makin said.
According to the Maine Principals Association good sportsmanship is defined as “those qualities of behavior which are characterized by generosity and genuine concern for others. Further, an awareness is expected of the impact of an individual’s influence on the behavior of others. Good sportsmanship is viewed by the National Federation (of State High School Associations) as a concrete measure of the understanding and commitment to fair play, ethical behavior, and integrity.” The Good Sportsmanship Award is voted on by the other teams in the MPA.
High school tennis in Maine doesn’t rely on referees, but rather the self-enforced tennis code of ethics.
Makin, who has coached the team for close to 30 years, said the team has made a lot of improvement over the years winning eight of the 12 regular season matches this season. Westbrook lost to Windham 4-1 in the preliminary round of the playoffs. This comes after failing to win a match in spring 2017 and spring 2016 and only winning one in spring 2015.
The success of the team, he has told in the American Journal in the past, is not measured in wins, but rather effort and improvement.
“Maybe it is the elementary school principal in me, but good sportsmanship awards mean an awful lot because they say many things about the character of our students and the way they have been raised by their families, by the community (and) by the schools. It means a lot,” said Superintendent Peter Lancia, who prior to taking on central leadership roles was the principal at Congin School.
Westbrook girls’ tennis members Maura Rielly, Alex Thayer and Jacinda Im show off the Class A South Good Sportsmanship Award they recieved this spring at last week’s school committee meeting. At left is head coach Mike Makin.
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