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Excerpt from “Reclaim the Game: How Money and Mania Ruin Children’s Sports – and Why It Matters,” by Linda Flanagan. Read also : ‘This is a Matter of Equality’: Maryland Law to Allow Religious Garments in College Sports. Published by Penguin Random House.
There is no compelling evidence that sport builds character. The results of the meta-analysis on the relationship between athletics and character development clearly confirm this: “Forty years of research, conducted by more than 20 scientists studying tens of thousands of athletes and non-athletes from youth, high schools, colleges and Olympic levels, simply does not support the concept of sport as a building activity. character, especially as it relates to sports behavior and moral reasoning skills.
It’s true that coaches can build team cultures and reinforce useful habits among players. “But that doesn’t mean they necessarily sneak into the classroom, school, profession, or family,” explained Jay Coakley, the nation’s prominent sports sociologist.
Moreover, sports teams are not the only place where children learn to work together, and it is impossible to determine which specific experience makes an individual highly disciplined, say, or actually collaborative. “I did sports throughout my studies and even beyond,” he said, “but I did a lot of other things that made me who I am.” There is simply not enough data to bring out the impact of sport on a young person’s character compared to other activities and experiences that also shape development.
But that doesn’t mean kids don’t learn from sports or that coaches don’t have a lasting impact on kids’ maturation. Richard Weissbourd, a child and family therapist who runs the Making Caring Common project at Harvard, says that children make discoveries through sport, but what they learn depends entirely on context. If a coach degrades players, makes competition too central to experience, omits children, tolerates speaking to judges, and mishandles parents, then the children will learn disruptive lessons. “Sport can be harmful to children under these conditions,” he said. On the other hand, if the coach is fair and respects the team and judges; if it helps children to empathize with players on both teams; if it allows children to deal with loss, be grateful and respect their opponents, yes – sport can build character. In short: it all depends.
In the absence of evidence, there are theories and testimonies advanced by philosophers, child development experts, and ordinary adults that athletics shaped their lives.
“My high school sports experience shaped me into a functioning adult,” 24-year-old Maggie Lynch explained in an email.
Aidan Connly, a recent college graduate who played football and lacrosse in high school, said, “I’ve learned to never give up and ignore noise.”
Jacqui Young, twenty-seven, said that playing volleyball, softball and basketball as a teenager taught her to work with others, to appreciate her responsibility to the collective. (Group projects in the classroom had a different resonance: “They made me feel more insulted than anything else,” she said.)
The memories may not be controlled experiments, but the amount and intensity of such reports is striking. Indeed, it feels like any adult who grew up playing sports could instantly revive a story from the pitch or team bus that had an impact.
Children can grow out of sport in other ways as well. Competitive sports environments force them to engage in strong feelings for themselves and others. Soon they learn to deal with the anger, sadness, embarrassment and joy that the game causes. If the sports environment is healthy, children can also learn to control their aggression. After all, in games, one team or person fights the other, and in these competitions, the goal is to beat the other – aggressively if need be. But when the contest is over, everyone goes back to people, maybe even friends, and the aggression has to be stopped. “It is hard to imagine a stronger deterrent to the violation of another person,” Weissbourd wrote, “than to acknowledge that our hostile feelings towards another person are a kind of fiction, produced by the game and have nothing to do with it – that we are irrationally making enemies.”
With proper leadership, the sport can also encourage other moral virtues, including recognition of an opponent’s skill, tolerance for the mistakes of a weaker player, and respect for an imperfect referee. This kind of “demanding morality,” Weissbourd wrote, builds empathy: children learn that their emotions, no matter how passionate, are not the most important – that the feelings and experiences of others are equally important.
Philosophy professor Drew Hyland says that serious involvement in sport can also trigger two profound internal changes: “an experience of deep, passionate commitment and self-discovery.” Hyland used his own time playing basketball to share how much this had affected him. “There was no experience in my school or university education that would lead me to more self-knowledge than my basketball experience, no course or class where I would learn more about my possibilities, my limitations, where I was willing to compromise and where would it take. my position”.
One of the clearest illustrations of self-knowledge gleaned from sports comes from Mark Edmundson, an English professor at UVA and a former high school footballer. In his 2012 essay on sports and characters for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Edmundson explores how the game of soccer fueled the moral development that warrior communities value.
Physically unimpressive – “I was soft as butter around the waist, short-sighted, not very quick and not at all incapable,” Edmundson still had the will to stick to the sport despite exhausting double practice during summer dog days and regular beatings by coaches. Disregarding everyone’s expectations, he endured more talented athletes and gained a certain measure of self-respect. “I have become a tougher, bolder man,” he wrote.
He also overcame his tormenting self-awareness and learned to judge himself according to his own internal standards, not those imposed by others. He wrote that it was regular training, heavy exercises day after day, that forced this permanent transition. And the resilience and perseverance he consumed while playing football led him through the long toil of graduating from high school and his subsequent job search.
But there were also rotten lessons. The daily orchestrated violence made him more brutal. Given the hierarchical nature of the sport, he became more interested in power and dominion over others. He realized that he was used to thinking in terms of physical domination and that he would find it hard to let go: “When a punch in the mouth is part of your repertoire – when you do it a few times as an adult – it never really disappears.” And he saw how the culture he inhabited was aggressively homophobic, obsessed with physical supremacy, and therefore hostile to the value of goodness.
Several studies support Edmundson’s experience. Children who wrestle and play football are 40 percent more likely to experience violence outside of sport than their unsportsmanlike peers. “Athletes are encouraged to use violence outside of sport because they are rewarded for being aggressive in it,” said Derek Kreager, who conducted the study. A study of 1,600 male high school athletes found soccer and basketball players were twice as likely to use their partners for dating as athletes in other sports. Most studies of alcohol consumption among high school athletes show a positive relationship between them, although it is unclear whether one “causes” the other. The link is especially strong in higher income areas.
We take our children to the pitch for the same reason our parents did: because we believe in sports construction. But evidence is lacking, and the environment in which the children are now playing tends to do the opposite. Coakley believes that the way youth sports have changed over the past twenty years is undermining character development. “Sport has become more cruel and competitive among children and parents,” he said.
“Some children survive the system because they have joined other activities,” he added. “They did it despite playing sports and became a pretty good twenty-three-year-old.”
To the extent that there is consensus about sport’s contribution to character, it appears that what children get from athletics depends entirely on a changing and tangled set of variables. Community values, parents’ attitudes towards sports, the way and methods of coaches, a child’s own temperament and training, and countless other intangible assets determine what children learn from athletics. Sports themselves are empty vessels, imbued with the meanings we give them.
Why is it important to accept losing?
Accepting failure is the first step, learning from failure is the second step, and the third is applying those difficult lessons we will learn in the future. With persistence and dedication, losses are likely to become less. Often you learn more from losses than from wins, so treat them as opportunities, not flaws.
Why must we accept failure? We are all struck down and experience moments when things go wrong. It’s important to process your feelings about this failure, but you can’t live in it. On the same subject : Understand the different rules and policies for transgender athletes. Failure is only temporary, and if you accept failure, you’ll be knocked down instead of standing up. You have to accept failure to really be defeated.
Why lose is important?
You can learn a lot from losing. It reminds us that we have to work harder. It allows us to make changes to the way and the way we train and exercise. In the event of a loss, we are able to identify our weaknesses and weaknesses and work to improve.
Why is learning to lose just as important as winning?
Losing is difficult, but by practicing losing respectfully, we become better people. Recovering after taking the L and going back to it builds a character that will ensure that you ultimately win in life. To see also : EA Sports Determined to Win Gamers’ Approval With ‘Madden NFL 23’. We really didn’t completely lose unless we give up after losing and stop trying.
Does losing at sports build character?
Experts agree that losing in sports, no matter how endless, can allow children to learn from failure. Constant losing builds philosophy, camaraderie, sports rivalry and the idea of athletics as a series of successive victories. The team may be weakening, but the teammates are improving moment to moment.
Does sport build or reveal character? Most studies show that as the level of sports competition increases, the level of character decreases. However, practicing sports at any level can and should build a positive character.
Do sports build character or damage it Edmundson?
In his essay “Do Sports Build Character or Damage It?” Edmundson, professor of English at the University of Virginia, says we don’t really trust the power of sport to build character. True, Edmundson writes, we see their potential to cultivate body and spirit.
What do you learn from losing in sports?
You can learn a lot from losing. It reminds us that we have to work harder. It allows us to make changes to the way and the way we train and exercise. In the event of a loss, we are able to identify our weaknesses and weaknesses and work to improve.
Do sports build character or damage it Edmundson?
In his essay “Does Sport Build Character or Destroy It?” Edmundson – professor of English at the University of Virginia – says we really don’t trust the power of sport to build character. True, Edmundson writes, we see their potential to cultivate body and spirit.
Does sport build Edmundson’s character? Does sport build character? Yes of course.
Do sports actually build character?
Sport helps the individual much more than in the physical aspects alone. Builds character, teaches and develops strategic thinking, analytical thinking, leadership skills, goal setting and risk taking, just to name a few.
What does it take to be good at sport?
Being good at sports is about more than physical strength and speed. To be really great, you have to apply that positive attitude to the way you treat other players, even if they are on the other team. If you lose the match, accept the loss and show respect to the other player for their victory.
Why is sport a good essay for you? Playing sports increases self-confidence in speaking correctly. Sport certainly improves your ability to communicate with others. Moreover, a person experiences confidence in sitting, standing and walking correctly. Sport enriches the social life of an individual.
How do I write a paragraph about my favorite sport?
I enjoy watching cricket with my family and playing with my friends. People in my country are passionate about cricket and watch games with great enthusiasm. I play cricket with my friends at home and at school. I am a good batter and field player, and my friends have the same opinion.
Do you play any sports essay?
Sport is a type of physical activity that everyone loves. Playing sports develops our body structure and gives us energy. I also do a lot of sports, even stand at my school. I play basketball, volleyball, badminton, but most of all I am an athlete.
