Agony of Defeat

It is always interesting to see how some things change from generation to generation. The generation that just graduated from high school has been shielded and protected from many things that their parents were not protected from. One of the things the new high school graduates were partially shielded from is the agony of defeat in sports. Youth sports leagues are becoming more orientated towards playing the game and not keeping score rather than deciding a winner and a champion. The parents of this particular generation were involved in competitive sports leagues at very young ages.

There is a lot to be said for being prepared for the real world as a child grows up and starts to experience more things. Once a child reaches high school they become involved in competitive sports where the score is kept and champions are crowned. Athletes that go beyond high school are exposed to a cut throat world of competitive sports where they are constantly asked to be in top form. Does it help these children to remove the competitive angle from sports when they are young or should we allow our children to experience the agony of defeat as their parents had to? Time will tell but there is a great deal of merit in learning how the world operates when a child is very young because then you give them a lifetime to figure out how to compete with the rest of the world.

Central New York Chapter
Gabriela Gutierrez
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