Truths: Youth Sports: The Demise Of Professional Athletes?

My daughter plays basketball and soccer and over the years it has amazed me how these sports work.

Sure, it starts at the age of 5 when they are all learning how to play and no one keeps score: it is all about having fun.

Except, all of the parents are keeping score and when their future all star asks them who won – they tell them.

Last year, during basketball they had a timer and scor board but never used the scoreboard for the girls league. Yet, they did use the scoreboard for the same age boys league.

What ever happened to women’s rights? Do boys handle losing better than girls? Are girls so fragile that they can’t be equally competitive? I think not.

And, again, regardless of what the league chose to do the parents were keeping score anyway.

Just a few weeks ago, at one of our indoor soccer games – the most ridiculous thing happened to date. My blood boiled… Our team was winning, something we don’t do very often. And, it just so happened that we were winning by a lot.

However, once the score was 6-0 – they quit keeping score. They didn’t want the other team to feel bad – yet, we were still shooting goals? Do they really think that the other team wasn’t keeping score, anyway?

Why not stop the game instead of just stopping the score? Shouldn’t our team be proud of their accomplishments? Isn’t that what learning sports is also about?

(I swear that even if my daughter was on the losing team, I would fight for the same thing.) I despise how we protect our children from the harsh realities of life: losing.

This weekend an even stranger thing occurred – flat out cheating. Our girls played their hearts out and lost. The team we were playing was outstanding. Their kicks had so much power and while our girls did a great job on defense it was near impossible to stop them.

We lost and they did keep score. Yet, when the girls came to all of the parents, they told us that they won the game? Huh?

Yeah, it turns out that other team had nearly all 12 plus year olds playing and was disqualified for cheating. ( no wonder their kicks were so strong!)

I was dumfounded by this – we can’t keep score but we can cheat our way through a game?

I understand the philosophy behind protecting kids and just wanting them to learn a sport and enjoy playing – but the truth is sports are undeniably a win or lose event. And, whether there is a scoreboard or not to keep track – everyone in the stands is. Not to mention the kids on either of the teams.

It is about winning and it should be or why break a sweat?

So, beyond the idiocy of youth sports – I was absolutely appalled this weekend by a NFL game. I already can’t remember what teams were playing, but one team was creaming the other and in the last few minutes of the game the winning team chose to score another touchdown.

Now, this touchdown actually gave that quarterback a new record so it was important but the losing team cried like babies because they felt like it was unsportsmanlike conduct for the other team to score and “rub it in their face.”

One of the sports announcers even agreed.

Are you fricking kidding me? These players are earning millions of dollars and they can’t suck it up? Not to mention, if you don’t want the other team to score – then play better defense!

So, I ask – couldn’t this behavior be what we are actually are teaching kids when we protect them from the score of a game?

Are we making them bad losers? Are our kids going to be whining 20 years from now in professional sports because the other team won by a landslide?

Gosh, I hope not. If my daughter was on that losing NFL team and cried that it was unfair – I would be embarrassed and I would immediately remember the game where we protected the other team from “knowing” it was a slaughter.