My brother just signed my niece up for one of these "everyone wins" softball leagues. I just wanted to get everyone's opinions on this. I
understand the philosophy behind it, but I think it hurts the kids more than it helps them.
When I was young, there were "everyone plays" leagues. That didn't mean that everyone played the whole game, but everyone got a chance to play for
a little while. If you weren't good enough, you were the one riding the pine, or chattering from the dugout. I can remember, even at a young age,
wanting to be on the field, so I practiced. I got better. I had a DESIRE to be the best. Where will kids get this desire from now? "No, I don't have
to get better. I win anyway." They have no reason to better themselves. Also, when the game was over, you were either a winner or a loser. Plain and
simple, it sucked to lose. But, it taught us that we had to try harder to win. Winning isn't free and nothing in life is free.
It's a fact of life that someone wins and someone loses. Loss and adversity is what creates the desire to become a champion. I feel that the younger
a person learns this, the more successful they will be in anything. Being part of a sports team taught me more about life in general than anything
else I've done. It teaches people all kinds of life lessons that should be learned at an early age. The "everyone wins" philosophy pretty much
suffocates(sp?) all of these lessons.
So, I guess my question is "what benefit does a child (or anyone for that matter) get out of an everyone wins sports league besides a little bit of
excercise? I would love hear some other opinions.
[edit on 21-5-2008 by MrWilliams]