Adults, how ashamed we should be

Competitive nature: is it taught, or are you born with it?

This year I decided to coach my son in soccer over the winter.  I thought this was a great way to bond with him and to have some fun teaching some other children the joys of sports.  Also over the winter it was the first year that my other son played organized hockey.   I was happy that he was going to enjoy the unique experience you get from playing a team sport.  Little did I know that as the year went on I would be upset by many awful behaviours.  Unfortunately this was from many of the adults, not the kids.

Some of the many things I learned over this winter (and in my years of watching, and playing sports)  will stick with me forever (even if many of the adults have yet to learn it).

1)  Kids will have fun, and learn, IF we let them.      

2)  Parents have unrealistic expectations of their children, AND of their children's coaches.

3)  Winning is NOT the only reason to play sports.

4)  Sometimes you gain more from a loss, than a win.

5)  Not all coaches play fair to win.

6) Many people think that if you beat a team by 10, then you are a better team.

7)  There are parents who will yell at a 5 year old on the ice! (in a negative manner)

8)  Just because you lose a game, doesn't mean that the coach is not a good coach.

9)  There is A LOT of cheating in sports.

10)  People do not see negativeness when they are winning, and are overly critical when they are losing.

My wish for both of my kids is to have fun in sports, and if they want to win an award make it the Most Sportsmanlike award.  With that I know that they have learned a lot from their year playing whatever sport it is. 

Being competitive is a great quality that will take people many places in their lives, from playing sports, to getting a job.  However my word of advice to many  sport parents is:  YOUR CHILD IS NOT GOING TO MAKE THE PROS, so let them enjoy!