2008 Woodie Awards
Parents just don't understand
Hayley Miller
Issue date: 4/25/05 Section: Sports
As far back as I can remember, no matter what the season, I was always on some sort of sports team. Looking back now I can honestly say without hesitation that none of my games ever ended in a tie because the other team's feelings were at stake.
Today's youth sporting events (generally until ages 10 or 11) are not keeping score. Parents, officials, and high ranking people in charge of these programs have come to the conclusion that losing is much too hard an experience for children to handle. Well, welcome to reality.
I'm sorry but from sporting events to spelling bees, all competitions must have two basic elements: a winner and a loser. By not keeping score we are not sparing these kids the disappointment of losing we are teaching them the false assumption that life is fair, and it's not. Life thrives on competition. Whether you are playing dodge ball at recess or applying for a scholarship that only one person out of thousands will receive, life is tough and only the strong survive.
Did anyone stop and think how this idea will affect the kids who are really trying to succeed? What are we teaching them, try your hardest even though you won't benefit from it at all? What do we tell the kids who are naturally talented and deserve to win? "Great game today too bad all your effort means nothing because the other team has weak self-esteem and we don't want to bring them down any further?"
Losing teaches you to try harder, and winning teaches self-confidence. There is no greater feeling than the rush you receive when you win. If anything brings out confidence and self-esteem better than personal success I don't know what it is.
If every aspect of life was fair then no one would ever overachieve, because that would mean that someone had to just generally achieve, which cannot be done without the people who didn't achieve at all. As radical and far-fetched as it may sound, this lack of score keeping in youth activities can end up the root of some major problems down the road, some that are even non-sports related.
Today's youth sporting events (generally until ages 10 or 11) are not keeping score. Parents, officials, and high ranking people in charge of these programs have come to the conclusion that losing is much too hard an experience for children to handle. Well, welcome to reality.
I'm sorry but from sporting events to spelling bees, all competitions must have two basic elements: a winner and a loser. By not keeping score we are not sparing these kids the disappointment of losing we are teaching them the false assumption that life is fair, and it's not. Life thrives on competition. Whether you are playing dodge ball at recess or applying for a scholarship that only one person out of thousands will receive, life is tough and only the strong survive.
Did anyone stop and think how this idea will affect the kids who are really trying to succeed? What are we teaching them, try your hardest even though you won't benefit from it at all? What do we tell the kids who are naturally talented and deserve to win? "Great game today too bad all your effort means nothing because the other team has weak self-esteem and we don't want to bring them down any further?"
Losing teaches you to try harder, and winning teaches self-confidence. There is no greater feeling than the rush you receive when you win. If anything brings out confidence and self-esteem better than personal success I don't know what it is.
If every aspect of life was fair then no one would ever overachieve, because that would mean that someone had to just generally achieve, which cannot be done without the people who didn't achieve at all. As radical and far-fetched as it may sound, this lack of score keeping in youth activities can end up the root of some major problems down the road, some that are even non-sports related.
