Jeff Goldstein (is he really back? really, really?) cites a school district that booted some kids for jeering the opposing girl's basketball team members for shooting air balls. Now jeering the opposition...that's just not nice.
Oh, please! What are girls, delicately spun confectioners sugar who melt at the least provocation? Ridiculous.
Sports for girls or boys is about learning to overcome hardship. Sometimes that means learning to keep your pride even during humiliation. (And anyone who has played sports has humiliated themselves--I've got pictures to prove it.) Sometimes we screw up, everyone laughs, we brush ourselves off and soldier on. That's the benefit of sports--learning to soldier on during adversity.
Schools and parents need to stop trying to spare their children humiliation. Imagine when these ninnies get to adulthood and cry in front of a pissed off boss. Blech. Now that is humiliating.
Funny thing about this: I am a big fan of confronting coaches that coach just so they can berate children, but kicking kids out because they jeered the opposing team?!? Give me a break. When will we acknowledge that in life, WE ARE NOT ALL WINNERS!!! Losing is part of life, better to get used to it sooner.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is valuable in God's eyes, but that does not mean you are a winner in life! Kevin Federline: God knows how many hairs are on his head, but as a human, he is a loser, adds almost no value to society (outside random procreation)! Whether they kept score at his soccer games or not, the dude is a loser!
Matt, that is funny! Of course I hear what you are saying. But I teach my children that you can be a winner in many areas of your life. If not sports then it can be something else. Being a "winner" in life is very subjective indeed.
ReplyDeleteI loved playing soccer when I was a child, I loved track running and was the fastest one in my class for a long time. Finally someone else started to beat me and I remember how down I felt that I could't run faster then she. Unfortunatly, there was no one around to encourage me and pick me back up and I just gave up. It was too bad! But, I was still very young.
My daughter on the other hand is much more of a "princess" type and sometimes I wish she would be a bit more of a sports type. I think it's great for girls to get out there and do team sports. I don't know if it's right for me to push her in that direction. What's is you alls opinion on that?