Roncalli High School in Indianapolis is a Catholic school, and it's very clear that they take compassion and community involvement seriously. Jeff Traylor, a teacher in the Theology department of Roncalli, is also the J.V. softball coach. In a letter posted to a coaching blog, Traylor describes a recent game between the young women of Roncalli, and Marshall High School, a public high school that's just been newly-reformed as a high school. Understandably, they don't have an experienced coach or softball team—or even equipment. Roncalli describes the first ever game Marshall's girls' freshmen softball team had, against Roncalli:

They arrived to the field with a set of mis-matched catchers gear, a bag of extremely overly used gloves with no padding, 2 bats, 5 balls, 2 coaches who had never played softball one of which had never seen a softball game, and 11 of the most determined young ladies who I have ever had the privilege to be around. These 11 girls showed up with no cleats, no sliders, no sliding shorts, no long socks, no gloves of their own, no batting helmets, and no experience playing softball among the 11 of them. They had only had 1 week of practice on a field that has trees growing in the outfield.

Traylor, realizing just how new the team and the coaches were, got permission to help out the Marshall coaches in the dugout. He notes that "After an inning and a half of girls not knowing where to stand in the box and their pitchers walking 9 batters" he talked to the Marshall coaches and athletic director about Roncalli forfeiting the game in order remove the umpires from the field, and allow Traylor and the other Roncalli coaches work with the Marshall players. It was clear that the Marshall players wanted to learn, and were willing to work.

The Roncalli coaches and players were willing to forfeit the game, and take the loss, but during the coaches' discussion, the Marshall players decided that they should be the ones to forfeit—and did. That resulted in one-on-one matches between Marshall players and not just the Roncalli coaches, but the Roncalli players. They wanted to help too.

I note that both teams (as well as their coaches) deserve praise; this is what sportmanship is about. The emphasis on learning, on fairness, on compassion and working hard—these are all real-world values, and one of the reasons to include competitive sports in a high school curriculum.

Traylor's letter—which includes a pleas for donations of gently used equipment for the Marshall team, got picked up by ESPN sports writer Rick Reilly who wrote an extended piece here. So far, they've raised about $2,500 in cash for the Marshall team's ongoing expenses as well as equipment donations, and coaching assistance.

Stories like this help to balance the more common news of steroids and ethics violations in not only pro sports, but even school teams. It's a hopeful sign for the future since these girls will be voting in just a few years.

Image Credit: Indy Star.com