In the name of 'social justice' this is just wrong

[Iwritecode]

And some kids were better because they worked hard at it. I would practice with the team for an hour and then with my dad for another 2. I wanted to be the best out there and busted my ass to do so. Other kids didn't want to play or didn't have the passion I had. What's next, banning extra practice, to keep everyone on the same playing field?

 

When kids are old enough to know the game then they're old enough to know winning and losing. Hell my daughter turns 4 Saturday and she has known winning and losing for a year. I don't know why one day out of the blue she said "lets race daddy", but I let her win and she was all excited that she "won" I never even taught her what "winning" was, but there she was throwing her hands in the air jumping up and down. You can bet your ass the next race, I taught her what losing was. Now I beat her about 1/2 the time. The first couple times she cried and threw a tantrum and I had to do some 'GASP' parenting. Now when she loses she says good race daddy. Kids are exposed to winning and losing with tag, musical chairs, red light green light etc.... They know winning and losing at 4 years old. Competition is a part of life...better that they learn to deal with it.

 

What's really fun is when you quit letting your kids win and they still beat you.

[Balta1701]

Does it make you feel better about yourself in a competitive area if the other team either half-asses it, or if they beat you by too much, and you got given the win? How good is it for a kids self-esteem to go home knowing that the only reason you won is either because the other team felt sorry for you, or because your team was so bad, the adults felt sorry for you and gave you the win anyway. That isn't good sportsmanship at all.

So what you're saying is we need more effective regulation?

[lostfan]

What's really fun is when you quit letting your kids win and they still beat you.

My wife raced my 3-year old son up the stairs last night and didn't let him win and my son cried. I told him to go sit his ass down and get over himself. lol. None of that s*** in my house.

Edited June 2, 2010 by lostfan

[mr_genius]

My wife raced my 3-year old son up the stairs last night and didn't let him win and my son cried. I told him to go sit his ass down and get over himself. lol. None of that s*** in my house.

 

haha nice

[southsider2k5]

I raced my 3-year old son up the stairs last night and he won and I cried. He told me to go sit my ass down and get over myself. lol. None of that s*** in my house.

[lostfan]

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE

[knightni]

I come up with a rule that doesn't allow a team of black belts to compete against white belts.

[Texsox]

The Boy Scout Soccer and Scouting program is planned, organized, and understood to be a non competitive, development program. They do not keep score, the emphasis is on sportsmanship and learning how to be better soccer players. It runs through the age of 12. Some kids jump into a more competitive league as they get older, some go to the travelling, hypercompetitive programs. Bottom line there is room for all kinds. I'm not going to fault a league if they are wishing to be less competitive.

 

I was president of the men's golf association at my last country club. We had a group of guys that played hard with money always on the line.Is there something wrong with the guys that just wanted to play for a little excercise and to see how well they can do?

[Balta1701]

Is there something wrong with the guys that just wanted to play for a little excercise and to see how well they can do?

Hippy.

[hogan873]

I've coached youth hockey, little league baseball, and girls softball, and I've noticed one thing that's true with each of those sports: The kids are always asking "What's the score?" or "Who's winning?" Although the score and who won was more prominent in the hockey games, myself and the other coaches always told the kids that the key is to have fun and get better. For the most part the kids were pretty receptive, even after losing in the finals in a hockey tournament. Having said that, not keeping score is not the answer.

 

I believe in the mercy rule. There are different variations, and I think both my son's little league and my daughter's softball league do well with their rules. And at the end of the game the kids line up and say good game. It really comes down to the coaches to ensure the kids are good sports about winning AND losing. Saying everybody wins is kind of ridiculous, especially when the kids are old enough to know that their team actually won or lost.

 

But a team losing by default because they win by more than 5 goals? What the hell? In youth sports, the coaches have to take control and ensure their team doesn't run up the score. When I was coaching hockey, I've sat kids who wouldn't listen about passing the puck instead of scoring every time they touched the puck. And yes, some parents were quite pissed off, but others thanked me and said that's the only way they'll learn.

 

No one wants to see a blowout in any sport, but especially in youth sports. If the league or organization doesn't have rules in place to keep it competitive and fair, it's up to the coaches to do so. But telling a team they lose because they beat the other team too badly? Come on. Just don't let that happen in the first place.

[clyons]

Besides fun and exercise, one of the great things about participating in team sports as a kid is the chance to learn life lessons. One of the most important lessons is to play hard and play fair even though, in the end, there's no guarantee that you'll get what you deserve, and you might just end up getting your ass kicked anyway.

 

Imo, this sort of rule--an attempt to legislate "fair" results--robs kids of that life lesson, to their ultimate detriment.

 

I guess I'm old, but I see a correlation between this type of rule and the seeming sentiment that Galaraga should have been credited with a perfect game anyway. Yes, he got screwed. No, its not fair. But that's life. Its mostly fun, but some parts suck, and the sooner you learn to accept that, the better off you'll be. I'd rather my kid get a head start on learning that in youth soccer, than have to first confront that reality later on in life, over something more signficant.

[hogan873]

Besides fun and exercise, one of the great things about participating in team sports as a kid is the chance to learn life lessons. One of the most important lessons is to play hard and play fair even though, in the end, there's no guarantee that you'll get what you deserve, and you might just end up getting your ass kicked anyway.

 

Imo, this sort of rule--an attempt to legislate "fair" results--robs kids of that life lesson, to their ultimate detriment.

 

I guess I'm old, but I see a correlation between this type of rule and the seeming sentiment that Galaraga should have been credited with a perfect game anyway. Yes, he got screwed. No, its not fair. But that's life. Its mostly fun, but some parts suck, and the sooner you learn to accept that, the better off you'll be. I'd rather my kid get a head start on learning that in youth soccer, than have to first confront that reality later on in life, over something more signficant.

Well said.

[mr_genius]

Besides fun and exercise, one of the great things about participating in team sports as a kid is the chance to learn life lessons. One of the most important lessons is to play hard and play fair even though, in the end, there's no guarantee that you'll get what you deserve, and you might just end up getting your ass kicked anyway.

 

Imo, this sort of rule--an attempt to legislate "fair" results--robs kids of that life lesson, to their ultimate detriment.

 

I guess I'm old, but I see a correlation between this type of rule and the seeming sentiment that Galaraga should have been credited with a perfect game anyway. Yes, he got screwed. No, its not fair. But that's life. Its mostly fun, but some parts suck, and the sooner you learn to accept that, the better off you'll be. I'd rather my kid get a head start on learning that in youth soccer, than have to first confront that reality later on in life, over something more signficant.

 

^^^

[whitesoxfan101]

I don't believe what I'm going to write but it's time for someone to play Devil's advocate here.

 

Go watch a 59-0 NCAA football game. And I mean really sit there and watch it. There's plenty of them every year.

 

How does the side going down feel on that one? How much of a difference do those last 20 points make to the bottom line? How can anyone possibly argue that games like that are a positive for anyone. Horrible sportsmanship, basically you're taunting the other team.

 

Or, go to baseball. Ever play in a game with a 10 run mercy rule? I know I have. By the time it's 17-0 in the first inning, do you really want to keep playing so that one side can run up the score or do you want to quit and go drink a beer and swear at those guys for being such crappy sports?

 

Sometimes in life, you get your assed kick, sometimes in life you get embarrassed, and sometimes in life you look like an idiot. It's all about how you respond to such situations. I understand you don't actually believe this, and I think that's probably why, because you and everybody else probably realizes that a limit to how much you can win by is ridiculous. Not running up the score is one thing, but this goes too far.

[Texsox]

How about the rules where each player has to play?

[Iwritecode]

How about the rules where each player has to play?

 

I don't have a problem with that, considering how much parents have to pay just to get the kids on the team. That's not even including equipment.