1.Is winning everything? What message do parents send to their children about participating in sports? Are organized sports really for competitive parents instead of the children who participate?
119054
Winning is not everything and I think some parents act erratically because they fail to realize that they are living vicariously through their children....to the extreme.
579370
is someone crying???\n\npoor USA, although they never had a chance in hell of getting out of that group, but for some reason the fans actually believed they could do it.....hahaha\n\nstick to hockey......wait you can't win that either.\nstick to basketball....wait thats not it either.\nstick to baseball......wait thats not it.\nstick to american football......your the best in the world at that because no one else plays....congrats.
143372
No I think football can be a guy or girl sport. One of my good friends plays football. And she is really good. She plays for her hish school team and she plays most of the game time. I think you parents are just being over-protective.
506084
Could it be that maybe the coach is giving your daughter and the rest of the team each a trophy as if to say "Thank You"... Or to express something like "We may have lost the playoffs, but you're all winners to me and you all deserve a trophy!"  For a coach to go out of his way to do that, he obviously thought quite well of your daughters team, thus the trophies... HIS winners.\n\nI could understand you as parent catching heck for it... I would've told you off as well, for putting a damper on the spirits of these girls...  Sure they may have ranked last place...  But the coach saw them all as champion players...  Ever heard of an MVP award?  That's pretty much what the coach AWARDED them ALL with.\n\nYou know, with the fact that you had a problem with this, it makes me wonder...  When the league was over, did you approach your daughter and say "CONGRATULATIONS!!!  You're a bunch of losers!!!", or did you say something like "You're always a winner to me."?  Hmmm???\n\nUnless the coach is abusive to your daughter, I'd say mind your own business and get over it... It's not like he caused any problem, as you have for objecting to his good nature... What you could've said instead was "You got a trophy???  Aww!  That's so nice of the coach!"
246695
If the team looses without you will it hurt the team, ie. make the playoffs ect...  If the answer is yes, explain it to your father.  Take your mother with you to the game.  Also are you going to play?  In the end which is more importaint?
321870
I think the coaches were out of line.  They thought they were motivating him, when actually they were tearing him down.  Not all children/people respond well when they are being yelled at all, not very constructive.  Their actions could cause the opposite affect they desire.  Rather than motivate, they chase them away from the sport.  There is a fine line, especially with children playing sports.  You know your little guy and what makes him respond.  If I were you I would talk with all the coaches.  Explain that you didn't raise your child with verbal assaults.  Tell them that you are concerned that they will push him away from the sport rather than help.  Let them know that you don't expect for your child to babied but nurtured.  Suggest taking him out of the game the next time he messes up, rather than verbally embarassing him.  If your son really wants to play he will do the best he can to continue playing.  Another thought would be to get the opinions of other players parents, if they agree, try as a group to discuss this with the coaches.  The only reason I suggest this is if the coaches are jerks your son could pay for your chat with the coaches.  He could be teased and degraded as being a momma's boy when your not around.  Don't act offended of the situation but as a concerned parent who wants her child to excel in the sport.    Being a sports freak myself, I feel that these days people are going overboard when it comes to sports.
500829
it would really help to know your age, or if you are still in school. As long as you live in your parent's house they make the rules. It's usually for the best.  Unless you are being abused in some way at home you must abide by house rules. The soccer thing is really extreme. Can your Mom do anything to help you? Or maybe the coach could call your Dad about you being on the team. Also do you have a counselor at school you can talk to, or a good teacher? They can be very helpful. Best wishes to you. I hope you have a great life!
67795
Ahem,  I will assume this is boys:\n\n"Hey Guys, its not about winning.  Its not about victory, its not about defeating someone else.  We we take the court, we are not out there just to win, we arent out there just to score.  We take that court, we go out there to do what we do.  We play smart basketball.  We play fierce defense. We play team offense, We DO WHAT WE DO!  We do everything we have practiced we do everything we have taught, what we have learn we step on that court to showcase to EVERYONE who we are, what we are, and how we exert our will.  We Do What we  do and when we do what we do, at the end, after 40 min of basketball (I think those games are 10min quaters) After we  infront of our family our friend, each other Do what Do, on the scoreboard is the same result.  We dont have to play to win, We just have to play our game, our way, and do all the things that make the INSERT TEAM HERE the INSERT TEAM MASCOTs.  Thats all we will try to do, its not about the otehr team, its not about the referees its about us being us and Doing Us.  Now, stand up walk out to half court, and start being who we are, and what we are and we will get the result we desire.  Just Do WHAT WE DO.  Dont worry about anything else, think about us, the team and  how WE PLAY BASKETBALL.  We we play our game, we dont have to worry about the outcome, let them worry about the end, we just have to do us.  Do what we do boys, lets just do what we do,.
473508
If the team feels that he is not doing his job properly, they need to all get together and have a team meeting.  Many things can be worked out with simple communication.  The players parents can also get involved and participate in the meeting.
112045
I'm not sure if i understand exactly what your looking for, but what motivates me is just to have a night out doing what i enjoy and what i'm good at...  If your looking for what motivated me to get started, both my parents bowled, it was just one of those family things...  \n\nAnyway, soounds like an interesting choice of topic...  good luck, What's your major, btw????  i'm guessing maybe sports psychology..  sounds like fun :-)
666858
Children's Sports--The New Epidemic of Violence \nhttp://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2002/12/8a/article_01.htm
558596
There is homeschooling groups all over the place that meet and even some schools that will let your son participate in their sports but it really depends on what or why rather you are homeschooling because most groups are religiously centered and others are just plain looking for a better education and different way to achieve it. There is a liberal group called the Education Revolution. Through them you can probably find the later group and then there is a group - forgot the website - which is the homeschoolers network, they are more of the religiously backed homeschoolers. Good Luck!!! Its NOT easy. Especially in the high years :)
547297
It doesn't matter *where* he learns.  It matters *who* he learns from and who he learns *with.*\n\nIn other words, you want to send a seven year old to a place that has a good coach.  And good does not necessarily mean the most successful.  At this age, you want someone who encourages the kids to have fun and enjoy the game.  You don't need anyone who can hone the skills of advanced players, just someone with enthusiasm and a sense of fun that he can give to the kids.\n\nSo go to watch the leagues play.  See how the kids look.  Are they happy or do they look "driven"?  Play special attention to the kids from the losing teams.  Of course they will be disappointed, but are they enthusiastic about playing next time?  That's where you want your kid to play.\n\nGood luck!!
610185
Ummmm I'm American, and first to answer the person before me - I wouldn't say that we have a domination in everything, so it's not ours to lose: Have you been watching the world cup?\nAs for tennis, I honestly wouldn't say that we are or have been dominating in tennis either. There have been some great players from the US, but there are many more from all over the world. So, I don't think that we are LOSING our domination in tennis, I don't think we ever had it to begin with. Sometimes things may seem that way because the media focuses on who they think the world wants to see, but that doesn't make it reality.
582018
The coach is there to lead you, but what is really important is teamwork. If your team really wants to win, talk to each other, communicate what strategy you should use to win the game.
240344
If you're going to have anybody pitching your product around here these days, you couldn't do much better than Lindy Ruff. \nWith a big assist from the Sabres' head coach, some Clarence Central School District youngsters are closing in on their goal of raising enough money to travel later this month to Knoxville, Tenn. They will compete in the global finals of the Destination ImagiNation tournament, a kind of mental Olympics in which student teams do creative problem solving. \n\nThe vehicle to get them there - aside from the bus on which they'll travel - is a rubber wristband. Kids and their parents are selling 6,000 of them in the Sabres' old and new team color combinations, as a fund-raiser. \n\nRuff purchased four of the rubber bracelets for good luck, then talked about them at a news conference earlier this week. His endorsement appears to be paying off, according to Helena Kleinlein, president of Clarence "DI" Boosters, a parent organization that assists the student teams and conducts fund-raisers. The group already had raised about $8,000. \n\n"I don't think [Ruff] actually meant to endorse the bracelets. I think he was just being a good sport and supporting the children, but we do appreciate his comments," Kleinlein said. \n\n"I would imagine the words "Creative Teamwork' that appear on the bands might have struck home with some and, perhaps, that is what any team manager hopes to achieve with their team," she added. \n\nAnd as his team gels into playoff success, it's what Ruff has had in mind for the Sabres. That's the same lesson Kleinlein hopes will be instilled in the young participants in the Destination ImagiNation competition. \n\n"I absolutely see parallels," Kleinlein said. "When you begin the year . . . with seven individuals [on a team], each of these students thinks that their idea is the biggest and brightest. The challenge, as a team manager, is to get the children to step back and listen to their teammates and find a way to work together to accomplish a goal. \n\n"Once a team becomes a family, that is when they can really achieve greatness. They respect each other, they listen to each and they acknowledge good points that everyone brings up. They use each other to raise the team higher," she said. \n\nSeven teams from the Clarence School District qualified for the state competition, held April 8 in Binghamton. Ruff's youngest children, 11-year-old twins Brian and Madeleine, are on one of the three Clarence teams that qualified for the global finals, scheduled for May 24-27. \n\nThis is the fourth year teams from Clarence have been in the competition, and the second year that any have made it to the global finals. \n\nKathy Cipresso, treasurer of the "DI" Boosters, has a daughter on one of the three teams in the finals. This year's team is made up of elementary and middle schoolers. \n\n"We're trying to grow the program. There's such an interest now that we may end up having a high school team next year," Cipresso said. \n\nTeams from all 50 states are in the global finals, as well as teams from Israel, China, Great Britain, France and Spain. \n\nAt the invitation of the Sabres organization, the youngsters and their parent boosters were at the HSBC Arena pavilion before the start of Game Four Thursday to sell what remained of their rubber wristband inventory. The items were sold for $2 apiece. \n\n"The goal is to make sure that the travel expenses of the children and their team managers are met. It's imperative that the children are not held back by finances," said Kleinlein. \n\nDoes it matter to them that those buying the bracelets may have been motivated more by helping the Sabres than assisting Clarence Destination ImagiNation team? Not really, said Kleinlein. \n\n"The message on the bracelet is far-reaching. If it has another meaning for some, that&#39
385398
The only Upward program we have in our area is basketball. My son has never played it because I don't agree with the "non-competitive" format. Sports is about winning and losing. Life is about winning and losing and I think kids need to learn that. I'm assuming you were "put off" by the religious aspect. I'm also assuming you knew, or should have known, about that going in. I have absolutely no problem with the faith aspect of Upward. My kids get that every Sunday at church. Every team he's ever been on, football, baseball and basketball prays before every game. I have no problem with the religion, I just want real sports.\n\nEdit\nThe Y does the same thing up to a certain age, so I'd stay away from that also. I just don't get the concept of playing any sport and not keeping score?