Sportsmanship: A Dying Trait
This article (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012209dnsposhutout.40d72ee.html?ocp=2 ) tells the much discussed story of a high school girls basketball game in Texas which ended in a 100-0 score. Much has been written about the negatives and positives already, but people who know me, realize, I can't be quiet sometimes.
As a coach for youth sports, mainly kids between the ages of 6-14, I have been able to work on the foundation of each child's future outlook on sports, teamwork, and I hope, life itself. Too often in America today people shove their kids into competition with a vengeance. I have seen parents, coaches and spectators yelling at officials and umpires over a call or missed call, and behave in ways which are reprehensible. I know of many families which "travel" on weekends so their children can compete against the "best of the best" and push themselves more. Does a 10-year-old kid need to really raise his/her level of play so badly they should forfeit their childhood, or at least the "fun" parts of it?
I do understand the importance of teaching young athletes and people the spirit of competition, for the real world is a harsh place and not very forgiving about the ideas of winning and losing. Ask Bill Buckner. Ask Tony Dungy after the Bucs fired him. The list can go on for thousands of pages. Not just in sports, in life too. What good is finishing second on that job interview?
But please people, wake up! These are KIDS. Children! They are learning. The number one ingredient to teaching those lessons is perspective. Alex Rodriguez worked hard to get to the top of his game, but he didn't get drafted at age 11. Michael Jordan did not travel the country playing in tournaments in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Kids can learn the lessons of competition just fine in their area youth sports programs. For the extremely rare prodigy, they might need some special circumstance.
Now, here is the hard part. Every child is special, not every athlete. Many kids will only play sports for a couple of years, and then as they grow older, they will move into other areas of interest. So it is important for a coach to build a solid foundation for these kids to take into LIFE, not just the next level of sports. The real beauty of sports is the same lessons can be applied to many other areas of life.
Winning is nice, be humble. But we learn the most from our losses. What can I improve? Can I use this to motivate myself to work harder in practice, to play more focused next time? Does the world come to an end when we lose? Kids can learn to pull themselves up when they get knocked down, they can learn those lessons because life is going to knock everyone on their 'butt' plenty.
So, first to answer the 100-0 game. I think the winning school should be ashamed of itself, shooting 3 pointers in the fourth quarter already up 59-0 at the half. I think the coach should have been fired for having his team continue to play a full-court press to steal the ball in the 4th quarter every time the other team tried to get the ball moving on offense. I think the fact it was a Christian school should give pause to all those members and they should consider the message it sends the community.
But I also think many more kudos should be given to the girls on the losing team for continuing to try. They attend a "special learning" school and the folks there must be doing a great job, because those girls never gave up. They kept trying. They have been rewarded well by the sports and local community for their efforts. They learned the lessons which will take them through life.
So parents, please, let your kids be kids. The world makes them grow up too fast anyway, we don't need to help shrink what little time they have to just "have fun" and be kids. Sure a scholarship would be nice, but ask yourself if it is worth the cost. Shucks, all the money on gas, hotels, uniforms, and other expenses could probably pay for a fair amount of college anyhow. Perspective.
One final idea which might help with fan behaviour I will throw out there: have the games filmed. Maybe if some of the parents and coaches know they are on tape, they might just take a deep breath and think twice...or rather think once for a change.
As a coach for youth sports, mainly kids between the ages of 6-14, I have been able to work on the foundation of each child's future outlook on sports, teamwork, and I hope, life itself. Too often in America today people shove their kids into competition with a vengeance. I have seen parents, coaches and spectators yelling at officials and umpires over a call or missed call, and behave in ways which are reprehensible. I know of many families which "travel" on weekends so their children can compete against the "best of the best" and push themselves more. Does a 10-year-old kid need to really raise his/her level of play so badly they should forfeit their childhood, or at least the "fun" parts of it?
I do understand the importance of teaching young athletes and people the spirit of competition, for the real world is a harsh place and not very forgiving about the ideas of winning and losing. Ask Bill Buckner. Ask Tony Dungy after the Bucs fired him. The list can go on for thousands of pages. Not just in sports, in life too. What good is finishing second on that job interview?
But please people, wake up! These are KIDS. Children! They are learning. The number one ingredient to teaching those lessons is perspective. Alex Rodriguez worked hard to get to the top of his game, but he didn't get drafted at age 11. Michael Jordan did not travel the country playing in tournaments in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Kids can learn the lessons of competition just fine in their area youth sports programs. For the extremely rare prodigy, they might need some special circumstance.
Now, here is the hard part. Every child is special, not every athlete. Many kids will only play sports for a couple of years, and then as they grow older, they will move into other areas of interest. So it is important for a coach to build a solid foundation for these kids to take into LIFE, not just the next level of sports. The real beauty of sports is the same lessons can be applied to many other areas of life.
Winning is nice, be humble. But we learn the most from our losses. What can I improve? Can I use this to motivate myself to work harder in practice, to play more focused next time? Does the world come to an end when we lose? Kids can learn to pull themselves up when they get knocked down, they can learn those lessons because life is going to knock everyone on their 'butt' plenty.
So, first to answer the 100-0 game. I think the winning school should be ashamed of itself, shooting 3 pointers in the fourth quarter already up 59-0 at the half. I think the coach should have been fired for having his team continue to play a full-court press to steal the ball in the 4th quarter every time the other team tried to get the ball moving on offense. I think the fact it was a Christian school should give pause to all those members and they should consider the message it sends the community.
But I also think many more kudos should be given to the girls on the losing team for continuing to try. They attend a "special learning" school and the folks there must be doing a great job, because those girls never gave up. They kept trying. They have been rewarded well by the sports and local community for their efforts. They learned the lessons which will take them through life.
So parents, please, let your kids be kids. The world makes them grow up too fast anyway, we don't need to help shrink what little time they have to just "have fun" and be kids. Sure a scholarship would be nice, but ask yourself if it is worth the cost. Shucks, all the money on gas, hotels, uniforms, and other expenses could probably pay for a fair amount of college anyhow. Perspective.
One final idea which might help with fan behaviour I will throw out there: have the games filmed. Maybe if some of the parents and coaches know they are on tape, they might just take a deep breath and think twice...or rather think once for a change.
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