LEWISTON – A program aimed at reshaping Lewiston and Auburn’s high school sports programs – around quality athletics and good sportsmanship – is almost complete.

All that’s left for “Sports Done Right” is state accreditation.

“It will show that we’re done,” said Jason Fuller, Lewiston High School’s athletic director. “It will show that we’ve done all we could.”

Lewiston-Auburn was a pilot site for the program, unveiled in January 2005. Since the two cities started a few months later, “Sports Done Right” has become a buzzword at events by Lewiston and Edward Little high schools.

But it’s more than just a slogan, said Paul Amnott, Lewiston High’s assistant principal.

The program created core values for coaches, volunteers, parents and students to follow.

Among them was a focus on health and fitness and creating a positive and safe environment. It also worked to label “out of bounds behavior, from criticism of any athlete to sacrificing inclusion for star behavior or winner-take-all ethics.”

None of the ideas were new, Fuller said. “Sports Done Right” took the message of many coaches and teachers and made it tangible.

“This process put it up there in print, rather than just talking about it,” Fuller said. Every student must sign off on the values as part of their participation in sports.

In subtle ways, it has changed the atmosphere for high school athletics, Fuller said. Such problems as parents who yell at students are lessening a bit.

“The parents are starting to hold parents more accountable,” Fuller said.

Accreditation teams from the Maine Center for Sports Coaches will likely visit the school this spring, Fuller said.

Few Maine schools have been accredited yet. With the recognition comes banners for sports venues and reduced rates for coaching tests.

The final determination will come next fall, Fuller said.