Youth Sports: Winning Isn’t Everything … But It Doesn’t Hurt
As former NFL head coach Herm Edwards once famously said: “You play to win the game.”
There’s certainly a lot of truth to that. After all, isn’t winning the ideal result for any game you play, whether that game is checkers, a preseason lacrosse scrimmage or the Super Bowl? That’s why we play games: to win.
However, sports should also be fun and all games aren’t played in a vacuum. There’s a clear difference between the stakes of winning a championship contest versus a friendly board game. Obviously, winning is the most important thing at the professional level, because players are being paid to do precisely that.
But what about young athletes? Should winning be the most important thing to pee wee football players, who are playing to learn a complicated sport? Should winning be the most important thing to youth soccer players, who are playing just for fun and to be with their friends? Should winning be the most important thing to the intramural baseball players, who are simply playing because they love the game?
Sure, everyone wants to win; but winning and losing don’t have to be the focal points of sports for young athletes. Yet, more and more coaches and younger and younger players are making winning their sole goal, forgoing development, fairness and fun altogether. And that’s missing the point of youth sports.
Youth sports exist for kids to have fun, be social, learn new skills like teamwork, build character, stay active and find their identity. The kid that shows up to basketball practice in jeans and boots probably won’t ever make it to the NBA, but does that mean they should sit on the bench for all but two minutes of a youth league game?
Realistically, the chances of any star middle school athlete one day turning pro are slim-to-none. Sure, you want to give your best players the most playing time, but youth sports are all about fun and being social and trying new things. Winning should be secondary; everyone should get the chance to participate.
Of course that doesn’t mean that winning isn’t important, as there are benefits to winning at any level. Winning builds confidence and confidence goes a long way to helping kids develop as athletes and people. It’s a nice thought when there are no winners or losers in a tee ball game, because the players are typically six years old; but as players grow up, they need to learn that not everyone wins all the time — an often overlooked important lesson that’s taught through youth sports.
Youth sports teach very valuable life skills, so when lesser-skilled players are left stranded on the sidelines, they’re missing out on more than just a chance to play a game. And who knows? Maybe with some extra game experience and confidence, those “second stringers” might develop into better players in the long run than anyone thought they would be.
It’s obviously much more fun to win, but the line between winning and losing should matter less the younger your athletes are. Youth sports are meant to be a fun learning experience.
Winning may be important, but it’s not life or death.
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