Competition vs. "Everyone Wins"

[Kriegermädchen]

Hi everyone!

I'm currently writing an argumentative essay for school on childrens' organized sports. More specifically, it will be dealing with the question of whether kids' sports should be competetive (complete with score-keeping, winners, and losers) or more "everyone wins" (no score, no winners or losers, and no "hurt feelings"). I won't tell you which side I'm on so as not to bias any replies I might recieve. Could you please give me your oppinion on this topic? Thanks.

P.S.
I'll PM you to ask permission if I want to use your quotes in my essay.

 

[Kriegermädchen]

^^^ forgot to mention this:
I would especially appreciate any replies from COACHES. If you are a coach of any childrens' sport, please respond!!!

 

[Big Rob]

Giving medals to kids who don't deserve them is stupid. The last thing we need to do is encourage mediocrity.

 

[Yusuf Evans]

I think in society we are doing too much to stop from hurting a child's ego. It should not relate to sports. Why? Well, sports are all about competition. It's all about the need to improve oneself in order to be successfull. That being said, they need to choose a winner. If they want, give the participants a ribbon for participating but only an award or trophy for the first three finishers. The big bad world isn't going to be so kind to them and they need to start learning now.

 

[Irascible]

I'm absolutely in the camp of there being winners and losers. It was the losses in competitive play that caused me to get better. I thoroughly dislike losing and did what I had to do to get better.

But at the same time it's not an either/or proposition. There's room for both competitive and casual play. Though if it is casual, don't declare everyone one a winner. That's like awarding the prize to someone who hasn't earned it. It creates an entitlement mentality towards things one doesn't deserve.

 

[Kriegermädchen]

Thank you very much for the replies. On the same subject, here's another question:

What would you say to the children that get benched during games because they're not the best players on the team? Should competition be taken so far that it excludes other team members because of their lack of talent? Or should teams accept losses in the name of making sure everyone gets "equal playing time?"

Thanks again!

 

[Yusuf Evans]

Thank you very much for the replies. On the same subject, here's another question:

What would you say to the children that get benched during games because they're not the best players on the team? Should competition be taken so far that it excludes other team members because of their lack of talent? Or should teams accept losses in the name of making sure everyone gets "equal playing time?"

Thanks again!

I say let them play in a game at least once. However, don't let them all play all the time, particularly if they aren't that good.

I was a decent baseball player coming up. The only thing I couldn't do was hit very well. I had speed and my defense was awesome, but I couldn't hit the ball very well. What happened? I got put in as a pinch runner sometimes. I also got to play a couple of games but I normally batted last.

 

[Wroth]

I'm absolutely in the camp of there being winners and losers. It was the losses in competitive play that caused me to get better. I thoroughly dislike losing and did what I had to do to get better.

But at the same time it's not an either/or proposition. There's room for both competitive and casual play. Though if it is casual, don't declare everyone one a winner. That's like awarding the prize to someone who hasn't earned it. It creates an entitlement mentality towards things one doesn't deserve.

Absolutely. I wasn't a terrific player in some sports so I always drove myself to get better to avoid getting cut or whatever. A person without some sort of competitive drive, in my opinion, is severely hampered. At some level every person should want to be the best - they may accept the fact that even with all the training possile they can't be the #1, but at least then they can still aim as high as possible.

 

[fitmom]

We need to teach children to be enthusiastic about what they do and how to get motivated. Winston Churchill has a great quote: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
In life we gain some failures and some success. If we never experience failure we won't know how to find success~it certainly won't be handed to us!

Your second question re. benching. There are two kinds of sports leagues, competitive and non competitive. The non or recreational leagues give the children an opportunity to try/learn a skill, so these leagues should not bench. In the competitive league, benching is a reality. My kids play recreation sports so they can play and have fun, and they even have play offs, but everyone gets to play.

 

[freedom4all]

I think learning sportsmanship promotes maturity. If your team loses, you should learn that it's important to congratulate the others, as well as learn from your own mistakes.

The "everyone wins" idea is too pc. Barf.

 

[Kriegermädchen]

The "everyone wins" idea is too pc. Barf.

I agree.

 

[Ave Maria]

I honestly think this depends on the age. The really young children should all get equal rewards. It shouldn't be competition for them as young children tend to get upset too easily and not winning could really hurt their feelings. But for older children, I see nothing wrong in making it a competition.

 

[Kriegermädchen]

Thanks everyone for your help!!!! I have to turn in the rough draft tomorrow.... wish me luck!

 

[Blackguard_]

Winners n losers of course.
It defeats the entire purpose to not have winners/losers. The winning or losing is what makes sports fun and exciting. Ever play a computer game on god-mode or a really easy setting? Notice how it gets boring becasue there is no challenge?

And "winning isn't everything" is a lesson best learned by losing. I think every kid should have the experience of being on a losing team. If they don't learn sports is primarily about the fun of compettition that way they never will. Kids who can't at least take a loss are the future a-holes of the world.

As far as self-esteem....

1. PC BS

2. Kids need self-esteem from things they are good at. Not everyone is going to lie to you forever about being good at X. What happens to self-esteem of the kids who finally realize they stink? And if they never figutre it out, don't we consider people who claim to be good but stink arrogant jerks?

It shouldn't be competition for them as young children tend to get upset too easily and not winning could really hurt their feelings.

Bah. They have bigger problems if they are so upset over losing. How young do you mean? I think they are old enough to play they are old enought to lose.

 

[Wroth]

And "winning isn't everything" is a lesson best learned by losing. I think every kid should have the experience of being on a losing team. If they don't learn sports is primarily about the fun of compettition that way they never will. Kids who can't at least take a loss are the future a-holes of the world.

Agree fully... I spent a lot of seasons on losing soccer teams/football teams/baseball teams but I also had many seasons on winning teams (including a span covering 3 seasons where my soccer team only lost once when we could only field 8 players... lost 1-0). But without the experience of having lost, I would have been one of those kids who taunted the losers and just never learned to be sure to include everyone in the victory/loss.

 

[mare61]

How else do we find out what we're good at? How else do we find out how much we need to improve if we don't excell in something we really have an interest in? As grownups, the score will be kept at one level or another. After a certain age, I wouldn't put my child in something where the score was not kept. Why stop there? Why not eliminate grades in school? There has to be a standard and a gauge.

Blessings, Mare

 

[much_loved]

Personally, If I don't have that competitiveness in sports, it's not worth it. I'm 15, and sports are a big part of my life.

But then again, depending on the age group you are focusing on will greatly impact that feeling. If you are working with K-2 graders, competetiveness can be hurtful to the "losing" team, mainly because some kids don't know how to act sportsmanlike.

However, I think people need to learn how to be graceful losers. The "everyone wins" mentality is not realistic.

 

[Kriegermädchen]

Thank you everyone who responded to this thread. I turned in my essay and received an A on it!

God bless and thanks again!