In the wake of San Antonio's sweep of Cleveland to capture its fourth NBA title in 9 years, there are some clear lessons for youth sports coaches, players and the kids themselves:

1. Teamwork wins championships. The Spurs are truly a team, and won with a great team effort. Although they have three stars in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, it was arguably defensive stopper Bruce Bowen who played the biggest role in this championship, as he shut down LeBron James, who shot less than 35 percent during the Finals.

2. Take responsibility for your actions. Moments after the final game, LeBron James was asked all sorts of questions about why his performance wasn't up to his usual standards. Rather than making excuses, James said he didn't play well enough for his team to win, and said he had a lot to work on during the offseason to improve as a player. That's saying a lot, given James is arguably one of the NBA's best five players already.

3. Win with class. I think back to Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who encourages his players to hand the ball to the referee after scoring a touchdown rather than celebrating wildly, the point being that you should act like you've been there before. This is San Antonio's fourth title in nine years, and the Spurs know the right way to act, which is a refreshing change.

The Spurs are not the most exciting team, but from their coach and star players on down they set a great example both on and off the court. Too many times these days we see players and coaches making a scene, taunting other players, saying inappropriate things and not being good teammates or ambassadors of the game. It's nice to have a champion we can feel good about.