The Decline of Youth Sports
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
This has got to stop! The insanity of the “feel good” crowd is ruining youth sports
Somebody needs to tell these people that sports are all about competition. In the real world, the end goal of every sporting event is TO WIN.
So I was dumbfounded the first time I heard that some parents and teachers had decided that keeping score was a bad idea. It hurts kids psychologically when they lose, these new age thinkers claim. It demeans them to be on the losing team. It’s the playing of the sport that’s the point, not winning the game.
What a load of crap! Of course developing sporting skills, learning to play in a team environment, and including every child in the game are all valid goals. But they can all be accomplished without removing the point of the game.
Since parents and teachers should be preparing kids for circumstances they will encounter as adults, it seems to me that it’s irresponsible to have these “anti-competitive” sporting events. After all, life is nothing but one big competition. How are you preparing kids for real life when you hide from them the fact that they’re actually going to have to work to get ahead?
An important part of playing sports is learning to be a good loser, and a good winner. These are critical things that a person must learn in order to function in society, as is working as part of a team to accomplish a goal.
I can only surmise that these parents and teachers were the dweebs that didn’t play sports as kids. Anyone who’s ever played sports knows that it just ain’t fun unless you keep score.
If they really have a “no competition” mindset, why do they have spelling bees and science fairs, where there are winners and losers? Why do they even have tests in school? Seems inconsistent to me.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that winning is the only thing that should be considered when dealing with youth sports. it’s also important to make sure that everyone on the team feels like they’re part of the team.
Youth sports nowadays have inclusion rules so that every kids gets to play in every game. That’s a very positive thing. When I was a kid, I loved basketball. But I was a mediocre player. And although I joined my school’s CYO basketball team every year, I didn’t play very often. The best kids played most of the game, while I picked up splinters on the bench. It got to the point where I almost hoped we’d get blown out, because that’s the time I generally got into the game.
Bottom line: It’s human nature to want to win. That desire should be encouraged, not suppressed. It’s what inspires excellence.
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