The BAYS Sportsmanship Award is presented each season to teams selected by the Sportsmanship Award Committee from a pool of submissions received from members of the BAYS community. Winning teams receive special Sportsmanship Award Winner T shirts and have their team picture posted on the BAYS website in recognition of this honor. 

While BAYS expects all of its members to practice good sportsmanship, we believe examples of outstanding sportsmanship should be recognized and rewarded. 

To recommend a team, please go to My Bays | Coach/Manager or Referee | Sportsmanship Nomination 

During the Spring 2024 season, we received numerous nominations from both referees and opposing coaches that described various examples of outstanding sportsmanship.

After reviewing all of the submissions, the committee has selected the following two winners:

• Girls Grade 8: Natick Union: Coaches Avi Friedman, Milder Abella, Kevin Bagley, and Neysa McNamara

Reason for the nomination:  We'd like to share our appreciation for the incredible sportsmanship displayed by the Natick Union 8th-grade girls' soccer team, their coaches, players, and parents during our last game. It's incredible to see how much the soccer community has grown over the past years, especially the humanistic element that Natick Union has provided over this weekend, which has been forgotten on so many fields. 

We want to give a special thank you to the Natick team for their kindness. During halftime, we approached their bench and asked if it would be possible for a player from our team, who had never scored before, to score a goal toward the end of the game given that it was one of her last youth soccer games. Without hesitation, the Natick coaches readily agreed. They went above and beyond to make this happen, demonstrating the true essence of sportsmanship. From engaging in conversations with their players to coordinating with the officials, they made our player’s dream a reality. We are immensely grateful to the Natick team for their generosity and sportsmanship. Thank you, Natick, for this unforgettable act of kindness.

• Girls Grade 8: Watertown Coconuts: Coaches Brian Hazelwood, Milton Contreras, and Karen Young

Reason for the nomination:  The team showed great sportsmanship prior to, during, and after the game. They agreed to play 10 v 10 (our player got sick), even though we didn’t ask them to. Their players played hard and strong, but nothing dirty at all. We had great interactions with the coaches during the game and we did 4 quarters due to the heat. At the end of the game, one of the coaches and multiple players came and checked on one of our players who had gotten hurt toward the end of the game. Additionally, prior to the game, one of the Watertown players had memorized the Respect Statement and recited it to the two teams. The team did a great job of hosting.

Exhibiting and employing sportsmanship is at the very core of the BAYS philosophy: “...to provide an atmosphere of good sportsmanship to encourage all to compete, learn, and enjoy the game of soccer.”

Congratulations to this season’s winners. May you continue to be an outstanding example for all of our teams. 

BAYS Sportsmanship Award Committee

Steve Smoller, Chair
Barry Elliot
Gesse Faber
Bill Kobertz
Ed McDonald
Nadia Sussman
Karen Young