No one likes the feeling of losing. The intrinsic fight to win at life might explain why many of us subject ourselves to countless hours in libraries and athletic training facilities: so we can obtain the highest marks, and achieve the ultimate level of athleticism.
But what would become of this motivation to succeed if no one was keeping score? Would we try as hard in school if we were all guaranteed graduation? Would we put in two-a-days on the football field if no one was keeping statistics or standings? Would we work overtime if we weren’t compensated with extra pay and recognition for harder work?
According to the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA), putting an emphasis on competition takes away from skill development. That is why, in 2014, all Ontario soccer leagues will be mandated to stop keeping scores for competitive players under the age of 12.
“Unfortunately, when you put an overemphasis on competition, individual skill development regresses, and that’s what’s happened in our game for so long,” said Alex Chiet, the Chief Technical Officer for the OSA.
The Toronto Star has called North America’s attitude towards sports culture “hyperactive” and “win at all costs.” It is this culture that Chiet aims to change, and he suggests research is on his side: “We know what we’re doing is right — it’s well-researched, it’s supported — the challenge is just change. And change is hard for anyone.”
While time will tell whether Canada’s lacklustre soccer culture is going to receive a boost in skillset and productivity because of these changes, the new rules will not, according to thewhig.com, improve a player’s ability to enjoy the game.
Over-zealous involvement by parents and coaches, and an attitude that puts winning above enjoyment results in higher dropout rates in sports, according to the Whig. The professionalization of youth sports leads to children taking the sport far too seriously. A study out of Queen’s University found that swimmers and hockey players who dropped out of sports did so because they had too much pressure of them to succeed from a young age. However, when the process of playing and competing is at the forefront, keeping score becomes a source of enjoyment and challenge for children.
Sports provide an invaluable lesson to children: In life, you won’t always be a winner. With teachers being told they can no longer fail kids in school, and the honour roll being axed from a school in Calgary this past week due to “self-esteem” concerns, Canadians are beginning to feel as though all these safeguards create a “snowflake” generation; a generation that discourages competition and encourages mediocrity and a fairness that is good in theory, but near impossible in reality.
Kids are going to excel in different aspects of life just as adults do – maybe even more so because some kids develop earlier than others, which creates an even larger disparity in abilities.
What the OSA and sports leagues across Canada need to begin to look into is the over-zealous nature of the parents and coaches in attendance at the game. It is peculiar, that as a society, we wouldn’t condone yelling, profanity, and physicality towards children if we saw it in the grocery store – but just because it is being done in an arena, at a pitch or on the diamond, it is somehow perceived as being OK.
Moreover, if your child gets an A+ in fourth grade math, you wouldn’t be so naïve as to think he or she is going to be graduating from Harvard in 15 years. Why, then, do parents with children who excel at sports have the perception that their child is somehow the next soccer prodigy?
Parents, coaches and the professionalization of youth sports are what’s ruining the games’ potential, not the fact that one team may not be as good as another. Children, just like adults, flourish in competition, and if anything, the stress of competing against another human being forces them to train and excel in athletics, just as the goal of making the honour roll would compel them to succeed to a higher standard in school.
Muhammad Ali’s reflection on losing, something he never dreamed possible, sums up the debate quite succinctly: “I never thought of losing, but now that it’s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That’s my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.”
Being defeated is inevitable in life. What matters most isn’t the loss itself, but what you do to correct the errors of your loss afterwards. This is a lesson even the youngest of athletes and academics can understand, and one they ought to learn and appreciate.