Get the feedLodestar
Thursday, Oct 08th 2009
Great conversation, guys. My feeling is that if you are participating in an activity that keeps score and declares a winner at the end, you are engaging in a competitive contest and your primary goal should be to win. With that as your lodestar, you can then learn values such as teamwork, good sportsmanship, discipline, courage, trial and error, and hard work. My problem with parents or coaches being too soft or too intense is that both extremes undermine your chances of winning.
Of course, this isn't to say that succeeding at competitive activities is the end all and be all of existence. Winning competitive contests doesn't necessarily make someone a worthy, virtuous, or decent person. And there are plenty of worthy physical, mental, and spiritual activities that are not competitive. But if you sign up to play baseball on a team, you should accept that the goal is for your team to win games, not for you to be able to get a chance to play a full range of positions in an encouraging and non-judgmental environment.
Of course, this isn't to say that succeeding at competitive activities is the end all and be all of existence. Winning competitive contests doesn't necessarily make someone a worthy, virtuous, or decent person. And there are plenty of worthy physical, mental, and spiritual activities that are not competitive. But if you sign up to play baseball on a team, you should accept that the goal is for your team to win games, not for you to be able to get a chance to play a full range of positions in an encouraging and non-judgmental environment.
John Wunderli
John Wunderli is a Harvard trained litigator, retired little league baseball coach, and supporter of all University of Utah Athletic teams.
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