The Tom Higby Sportsmanship Award was instituted to encourage the highest level of sportsmanship within the Leagues operated by District IV (now NSYSA) at the Recreational level. To learn more about Tom Higby, click here:
During each Fall Season League Match you play within an NSYSA Recreational League (U11 & Above), your team's sportsmanship will be evaluated by the opposing team.
This evaluation will be reported by your opponent when they submit their Match Report on the NSYSA Website using a ranking of 1-4 with:
1 being the lowest (Poor) 
and 4 being the highest (Outstanding) 
Each team is to be considered to be at a rating of 3 when they arrive at the pitch.
In the comments box give kudos for awarding an opponent a score of 4 (i.e. "Nice job in the face of a massive scoring defeat")
As well as give specific examples and constructive pointers on how a team fell from 3 to a 2... or hopefully never, a 1 (i.e. "Sideline fan control recommended." or "Referee misconduct report of xx Yellows and y Reds, reflects need for focus on improved sportsmanship by our opponent")
Thank you for helping NSYSA live up to the FIFA "Play Fair" expectation!
At the conclusion of the Fall Season, the NSYSA Sportsmanship Committee will evaluate all the Sportsmanship and Misconduct data collected. They will then determine if one (1) or more teams in a bracket will be awarded a Sportsmanship Award. Likewise, it is possible that no teams in a bracket may be awarded a Sportsmanship Award.
All Sportsmanship Awards will based solely on the committee's evaluation of the reported ratings and misconducts received.