A viral video from a Little League game has people celebrating good sportsmanship.
Youth sports have gotten more intensely competitive, to the point where overeager parents and coaches have to regularly be reminded to take it down a notch. So when humanity takes precedence over team rivalries, it's extra heartwarming.
And considering how many "kids these days" laments we see coming from older generations, it's also heartening to see kids showing excellent character qualities when no one directly asked them to.
Part of playing sports is learning to be a good sport. Photo credit: Canva
A viral video from a Little League baseball game is giving us a nice dose of both—good sportsmanship and basic human kindness from two players from opposing teams.
As reported by USA Today, Isaiah (Zay) Jarvis, a batter from Oklahoma, took a pitch from Texas East pitcher Kaiden Shelton right to the side of his helmet. It was a hard blow that caused Jarvis to spin around and crumble to the ground, grabbing his head. The replay in slow motion shows that the ball basically just knocked his helmet off, though it was undoubtedly jarring and probably painful as well.
Jarvis was able to continue playing, but Shelton was shaken up. No matter how fierce the competition, no one wants to be responsible for injuring another person. He was visibly upset on the mound, so Jarvis left first base and approached him.
Watch the classy interchange:
That a kid this age would approach a player who hit him with a ball and comfort him with a hug, especially knowing that all eyes were on him, is just so lovely. Someone raised this young man to put people's feelings ahead of competitiveness and not worry about what others might think.
And the fact that the pitcher was so distraught at the possibility of having hurt someone is also so sweet. This was a moment that showed the true character of both of these boys, and both of them exemplified caring and compassion.
People praised the boys' empathy and humanity.
"Both of those boys are what you want your kids to aspire to," wrote one commenter. "One willing to forgive and knows it wasn't intentional and the other showing remorse and sorrow. I love it!!"
Thankfully, these kids aren't some one-off anomaly. We see examples of kindness and empathy all the time in sports. Despite how fierce competition can get, enjoyment of the game and the self-improvement on all levels that comes with playing is what it's all about, and many coaches and parents strive to make sure that their kids are learning all of those lessons.
This video demonstrates even more than simple respect for an opponent. It shows that this kid recognized his opponents humanity first and foremost. He didn't just say, "It's no problem." He recognized that the pitcher had feelings of his own and wanted to make sure he was okay. That's a whole other level of sportsmanship to strive for, one that takes nothing away from strong competition and doing your best to win.
Sportsmanship is what it's all about. Giphy GIF by Major League Soccer
Many adults could even learn from the emotionally intelligent and empathetic interaction of these two kids. Good sportsmanship all around. Love to see it. Big kudos to these kiddos and whoever raised them.
This article originally appeared three years ago.