When we watch sports, most of us have certain qualities that we love to see in athletes. The stars that possess these traits usually become our favourite stars to watch.

Some fans love to see pure technical superiority. For others it could be physical endurance. Some want to see great examples of tactical genius, while others love to see intense emotion, desire, and competitiveness.

These are all wonderful skills, but I personally get great joy out of seeing humility – the ability of an athlete amidst great success to not take himself too seriously.

Humility is such a wonderful virtue that we as Catholic Christians are taught to always practice it. While we acknowledge that we are beautiful creations of God, still we are not God.

All that is good in our life comes from God, including our talents and sports victories and awards.

Unfortunately, today, this is not a virtue athletes are encouraged to show by coaches, agents, sponsors, and sometimes even parents.

The commercialization of sport has led to increasing numbers of stars being brash, self promoting, and unappreciative. In our homes, schools, and athletic organizations, we need to reemphasize to our kids the importance of always being grateful to God for what we have and to give our best efforts always in the name of Jesus—and not solely for ourselves. Some specific behaviours that we could encourage are:

  • In team sports, always accept the role the coach gives you. Put the team ahead of yourself.
  • Reduce the self-promotion after a successful touchdown, goal, or three-point shot, replacing them with more humble celebrations. This should be done out of respect for opponents and fellow athletes.
  • Don’t make excuses for losses but rather accept responsibility.
  • In victory, give credit to God, coaches, and teammates.

Thankfully there have been some prominent world class champions over the last few decades who have shown the virtue of humility, many of whom are Catholic.

In hockey we don’t need to go further than the always classy Trevor Linden, a convert to the Catholic faith, who has been a legend in Vancouver for close to three decades as captain and now president.

While hockey usually has more humble athletes than other North American sports, Linden brought the standard of humility to a higher level. He always praised his teammates and would prefer to change the topic if adulation was coming his way. His servant leadership style, I believe, indicated humility as well.

In tennis Roger Federer has established himself as arguably the best player in history but he has always handled this lofty position with class and humility.

He has fought hard through the Association of Tennis Professionals to established better income distribution in order to help lower level players at the cost of his own winnings.

Both Federer and Juan Del Potro of Argentina have had audiences with Popes and have listed this event as highlights of their life. Del Potro as it turns out is also considered one of the nicest guys on circuit. He is very positive with his fellow players and he shows quiet humility.

Tim Smyczek is a lower-ranked player who is currently trying to qualify for majors. Smyczek, is a member of the Opus Dei Prelature, has always shown gratitude to God for his opportunities. He also is known for an incredibly sportsmanlike act that he performed during an Australian Open match versus Rafa Nadal.

Late in the fifth set in an extremely long, hard fought battle, Smyczek was ever so close to fulfilling a lifelong dream. On a big point after Nadal missed a serve he allowed Nadal to redo the serve (due to crowd noise). He ended up losing the point and ultimately the match partly due to this act.

In basketball John Stockton is the all-time NBA assist leader, and yet some fans wouldn’t know this because of the quiet and simply way he went about his work and faith. He played nearly two decades with one team, the Utah Jazz. He is a devout Catholic and emphasized his large family more than his personal accomplishments.

Humility in baseball is always on display with Toronto Blue Jay reliever Raphael Osuna, a Catholic who after a save does two things: makes the Sign of the Cross and hugs the catcher.

The legendary and now-retired New York Yankee Derek Jeter was always a model of class. A financial supporter of St. Peter Claver High School in Tampa, Fla., he was the quintessential shortstop, winning Gold Gloves and accomplishing over 3,000 career hits. Yet he was always reserved and quiet about his awards, focussing more on helping return the Yankees to their historical winning history. He accomplished this in a big way. 

Another significant reason why humility is crucial in our lives is that without it we will lack self knowledge and therefore be stifled in our ability to grow in life and in our relationship with Our Lord.  There is no reason why success cannot go hand in hand with a humble attitude. Look for this in your favourite athletes and expect this from your kids both on the field and off.