[wizard]

Originally posted by mick

wizard,
Though, in polite circles, there is much to be said about having fun, participating, good sportsmanship, teamwork, manners, sacrifice, and fitness, with respect to athletics, once any/some/all of these characteristics is coupled with winning the pleasure of sport is exponentially greater.

Winning is very, very good; losing is not.

mick

I totally agree. That's the goal. That's the balnce that is needed.

But when winning overshadows individual development (which is what happens in most cases), that's when there's a problem. Kids develop at different rates. The worst kid on the team in 4th grade could end up making the high school team. Most coaches live for today and don't worry about preparing the players for "real" games.