Character can mean a few different things depending on the context! When we refer to a person’s character, the dictionary defines it as…

“the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.”

“the complex mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation.”

Essentially, it is a person’s personality and traits: their values, morals, and behaviors that make up his/her character. We all should strive to have the best character possible, living our lives with the highest mental, moral, values, and behaviors as possible.

A student-athlete should have a strong, well-rounded character that helps them succeed both on and off the field. Some key traits for student-athletes include discipline, resilience, leadership, time management, accountability, humility, teamwork, and mental toughness. Not just on the court, track, field, pool, diamond, etc., but off as well.

In today’s post, I will focus on behavior! A student-athletes true character is defined, not by how they act when they win, but how they act when they lose. Not how they behave when things are going great, but how they behave when things become tough. Not what they say when everything seems to go their way, but when it doesn’t. And most importantly, when mistakes are made, whether intentional or not, how they respond! What do they do? What do they say?

Recently, a track runner, Everett, (intentional or not) hit another track runner, Tucker, on the head with her baton. Her coach and school lauded her as a good student with good grades. Her school even held a rally to support her. From all outward appearances, she has good character. But does she?

You see, never once has she taken accountability for her actions. Never once has she apologized. As a matter of fact, after she hit Tucker with the baton, she kept running the race. She never went to check on Tucker after the race, never apologized to her after the race.

What she has done is gone public to talk about her own mental state, defend her actions (it was an accident), say that she tried to apologize, but Tucker blocked her on social media, and that ultimately, she is the victim because of the hate she has received on social media. The time she had taken to go public with her “woes” would have been the perfect time to issue an apology for what happened… but she didn’t. Instead her parents issued an apology (later) on their daughters behalf!

A great student-athlete isn’t just about skill—it’s about character. The character of a student-athlete is one of the most important aspects of their development—both on and off the field. It’s about more than athletic ability or academic achievement; it’s the core of who they are, how they lead, how they handle adversity, and how they impact those around them. As parents, coaches, trainers, etc., make sure you are developing more than just skill!

If you haven’t seen the video, watch it HERE