ALUMNI PROFILE

What adults forget

Bill Gosse, Arts ’85, says good manners aren’t just for kids.

By Jacquelyn Kacala, Editorial Intern

W ith five children of his own, Bill Gosse is no stranger to youth sports. But the unsportsmanlike conduct he witnesses on the sidelines has little to do with the athletes. It’s their parents behaving badly. Two years ago Gosse founded TeamScore, a nonprofit organization dedicated to re-teaching adults the importance of good sportsmanship.

“I was looking for something I could be passionate about,” Gosse says. Now he brings TeamScore’s message to parents and fans through presentations and seminars at schools, YMCAs and other organizations. His main message: “Encourage your kids.”

Gosse sees everything from parents verbally abusing officials enough to halt a basketball game to children suffering serious injuries as a result of parents pushing them too hard too early. “As a society we need to stop having apathy toward appropriate behavior and respect,” says Gosse.

TeamScore's focus is primarily within Wisconsin, but Gosse hopes to take his efforts nationwide.

He has had a vested interest in sports since childhood and was a walk-on for the Marquette basketball team from 1981-83. He stays involved in youth athletic events through coaching and officiating. Says Gosse: “I am trying to get sports back to the way they were when I was young.”

To learn more, visit the TeamScore Web site.

Editor's note: Kacala is a junior in the College of Communication.