I believe that sports are good for children. Participating in team sports can promote many ideals including responsibility, good sportsmanship and fair play, as well as the importance of health and fitness. It’s also a great way for children to make friends and build their confidence.
Sports are timeless – even though school is out children everywhere will be participating in sports all summer long in leagues, neighborhood games and at camp. “As a parent, how do you encourage and reinforce the positive aspects of youth sports?” is the question that members of the Twitter Moms community were asked to consider as summer gets underway.
Our town is very much into sports and offers many opportunities for team sports all year long. My son loves sports and he knows that all we expect of him is to do his best and to have fun. The same cannot be said for all parents. Our town has seen some wild things, including parents fighting with other parents and parents arguing with refs. I myself have seen a coach argue with a ref until it got to a point where the ref told the entire gymnasium that the players were going to suffer the punishment because of the coach’s behavior. And suffer they did. Those boys’ faces were so long and sad, and it was clearly obvious that they were not having fun. I don’t understand what drives the ultra-competitive behavior that some people exhibit.
Ever since TJ was small we’ve told him that the only thing that matters is that he does his best and has fun. He has become a bit competitive as he’s grown older. He enjoys winning very much and when he doesn’t he usually learns something from it. He knows good sportsmanship doesn’t only mean being a good loser – it also means being a gracious winner and playing fairly.
We all want our kids to do well. We love to watch our kids play well and win. But winning isn’t everything. I’ve tried to teach TJ that the most important thing about sports is not winning, but how you play the game. I know it sounds cliché but the saying is true. Or at least it should be true. I think it’s more important for athletes to try their hardest and to play fairly, play safely.
Liberty Mutual partnered with Positive Coaching Alliance, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey and the Amateur Softball Association to create the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program, located online at ResponsibleSports.com. The goal of the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program is to provide both parents and coaches with information and tools to teach children the benefits of team sports. Available resources include articles, quizzes, scenarios, blogs and videos.
I’m interested to hear your thoughts on youth sports today. What message have you tried to teach or plan on teaching your kids? Have you ever witnessed any unsportsman-like behavior on the part of an athlete at an event? Have you ever seen anyn inappropriate behavior from parents, refs or coaches? Let me hear it.
