Youth Sports, Winning, Losing, Comp/Travel Leagues...

Jasonw560 · 05-20-2012, 07:08 PM

My boys HATE to lose. They've been on some crappy teams, so they know how to lose, and (in team sports, at least) lose graciously. The same with winning.

As Steven Tyler sang, "You've got to lose to know how to win". Sports or life, you have to "meet with triumph and disaster/and treat those two imposters just the same". Taking away winning and losing, GIVING away trophies (because some teams didn't EARN them), and saying everyone's a winner may boost kids' morales in the short term, but IMHO, it turns them into entitlement brats in the long run.

We ask our boys if they want to play a sport with the caveat that they have to stick with it at least one season. They've decided what they like and what they don't. We haven't pressured our kids into doing anything they didn't want to so.

Logan has gotten invited to play on the travel soccer team. We're not doing it because 1)he doesn't care if he's on the team or not, and 2)we don't have the time to do it. It is an honor, and if we could, he'd do it. He understands that. It would make him better, and I believe it helps the leagues. It makes the teams try harder.

05-20-2012, 07:08 PM	#3
Jasonw560 PhD from Sarcastic State Join Date: Jul 2011 First Name: Jason Location: Harlingen, TX Posts: 812 Trading: (0)	Re: Youth Sports, Winning, Losing, Comp/Travel Leagues... My boys HATE to lose. They've been on some crappy teams, so they know how to lose, and (in team sports, at least) lose graciously. The same with winning. As Steven Tyler sang, "You've got to lose to know how to win". Sports or life, you have to "meet with triumph and disaster/and treat those two imposters just the same". Taking away winning and losing, GIVING away trophies (because some teams didn't EARN them), and saying everyone's a winner may boost kids' morales in the short term, but IMHO, it turns them into entitlement brats in the long run. We ask our boys if they want to play a sport with the caveat that they have to stick with it at least one season. They've decided what they like and what they don't. We haven't pressured our kids into doing anything they didn't want to so. Logan has gotten invited to play on the travel soccer team. We're not doing it because 1)he doesn't care if he's on the team or not, and 2)we don't have the time to do it. It is an honor, and if we could, he'd do it. He understands that. It would make him better, and I believe it helps the leagues. It makes the teams try harder. __________________ ...And a woman is only a woman, But a good cigar is a smoke! -R. Kipling