A seven-year-old tennis champion, Kyle, was used to winning ever since he held a tennis racket at the age of two. His parents thought that competition would not have a negative effect on Kyle. But when Alfie Kohn, the writer of “The Case Against Competition” and a speaker on a talk show on national television, asked Kyle what he felt when he lost, Kyle replied “Ashamed.” This is a result of winning too often; it lowers your self-esteem when you lose. But competition isn’t always bad, and it gives children a reason to motivate themselves and it’s used as a learning experience, not just an opportunity to win. First of all, competition helps give children a reason to motivate themselves. In “Healthy Competition is Good for Children”, Hannah Pandel writes that “children in a competitive environment play longer than those in a non-competitive environment and have a greater sense of competence.” Because children are competing against each other, they have a motivation to …show more content…
In the article “The Case Against Competition,” he writes that “Most people lose in most competitions, and it’s obvious why that causes self-doubt. But even winning doesn’t build character; it just lets a child brag temporarily. Our competitive society has changed our sense of self-worth: you value is defined by what you have done.” Here, he is stating a fact: winning doesn’t build character. But losing does. Losing is what helps a child grow, and taking away the competitive aspect of a sport doesn’t help you win or lose. Sure, Alfie Kohn’s ideas may be valid, but will removing competition in a sport really do anything? Kids may be worried about being beaten and beating others in a race or game, but that’s just a part of human nature. Like Raj Verma said, “The goal is actually improving upon yourself.” No competition means no improving, for there isn’t a motivation to participate in a
When the coach turned his head, the seven-year-old stuck a finger down his throat and made himself vomit. When the coach fumed back, the boy pointed to the ground and told him, “Yes, there it is, Coach. See?” (Tosches A33).It emphasizes the fact that if a child gets hurt once, they will fear the possibility of getting hurt again ,so they try to find excuses to prevent themselves from playing the game.Second,Statsky states how competitive adults have drained the fun out of children's sports and made the game unappealing for children.She cites Martin Rablovsky, a former sports editor for the New York Times says that in all his years of watching young children play organized sports, he has noticed very few of them smiling. “I’ve seen children enjoying a spontaneous pre-practice scrimmage become somber and serious when the coach’s whistle blows,” Rablovsky says. “The spirit of play suddenly disappears, and sport becomes job-like” (qtd in Coakley 94). It shows the fact that competitive adults are oblivious to their actions and don't notice that what they are doing can really affect a child mentally.Third, Statsky is concerned that competitive sports will lower a child's self-esteem and make them lack confidence.’’Like adults, children fear failure, and so even those with good physical skills may stay away because they lack
Youth sports are a staple in nearly every American’s childhood as highlighted in “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” by Jessica Statsky. Statsky makes two contentions in favor of this argument: first, that the participants of youth sports are not physically and psychologically ready, and second, that the mentality of win or lose is more harmful than helpful during the formative years of a child’s development. I agree with Statsky that children’s sports are too often over competitive, but some competition is beneficial to their development.
For instance, I am a competition dancer. Going to different competitions you can see the differences in the way the dancers, teachers, judges, and moms view outcomes. The teachers just want you to do your best because no matter the placement received you had fun. When you are on a team, you want your team as a whole group to compete with other teams not each other. You see this with other sports too, such as baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. where kids try to outperform their teammates. This poses risks such as “loss of self-esteem, injuries… increased stress.” (Berger, pg. 245, 2014) However Active play and competition do not only pose risks they contribute to the following as well “Better overall health, less obesity… respect for teammates and opponents.” (Berger, pg. 245, 2014)
Lastly, in youth competitive sports you can learn how to win and lose politely, which is important to the feelings of your competitors. Even though teens can learn these skills in school and in their household, competitive sports provide another way for children to interact and experience how to use life skills in the real world. Another example from the article, “ Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at the Highschool Level,” it
Feigley, David A. "The Role of Winning in Youth Sports." The Role of Winning in Youth Sports. N.p.,
Statsky also makes another faulty assumption, which is that competition is an adult imposition on the world of children’s play. She says in her article, “The primary goal of a professional athlete – winning – is not appropriate for children” (629). Children compete to win in the same way that adults do, and they do so on their own without any adult pressure. Common playground gam...
Page 1 of 1 In the article, Losing is Good For You, written by Ashley Merryman for the New York Times, the author state that awards can be powerful motivators, but nonstop recognition does not move kids to succeed. Rather, it can make them underachieve. As well as, giving kids trophies for losing can bring them not give their best attempt at something, and keep them from understanding progress. A psychology professor of Stanford University Carol Dweck found that kids react positively to praise, they appreciate to listen that they’re talented, smart and so on.
Competition teaches cooperation, which is essential in a school environment. For example, when you have to work on a group project you have to cooperate with your group to get work done. If you get in a disagreement with a group member then your work won’t get done and your grade will suffer. In order
Confucius once said, "he who does not do well is less guilty than he who pushes too hard." People found that competitive sports are often physically straining and it is detrimental to proper emotional development. This blows away the misconception that competitive sports create a healthy and engaging atmosphere for kids. This and an overly strong obsession with winning create a toxic mix for the child’s wellbeing. People have begun to realize the world of competitive may be doing more harm than good for their children. Parents have also begun to notice that competitive sports often injure their children severely and also make the child feel left out, which in turn is detrimental to the child 's emotional health. Therefore, competitive sports
In Lisa Strick essay, “So What’s so bad about Being So-So? Lisa talks about our competitive nature and the need to be the best. Sometimes competition gets in the way of us being able to following through on a hobby, sport or activity without being given the side eye because we aren’t great that activity. Stick feels as though she let her son down because she didn’t start him in soccer at an early age like the other kids. She states, “ I’m sorry, son, I guess I blew it” (p. 204). She states this after the other kids made fun of her own son; “We don’t want that dodo on our soccer team… He doesn’t know a goal kick from a head shot” (p.204). Kids can be ruthless and not care what they say. Hearing someone say that we suck can make you not want to continue to try.
...etition makes it difficult to regard others as potential friends or collaborators; even if one is not a rival today, one could be tomorrow. The first step to achieving of being happy and healthy is recognizing the value of competition is built on myths. Just because forcing children to try to outdo one another is counterproductive doesn't mean they can't keep track of how they're doing. There's no problem with comparing their achievements to an objective standard or to how they did yesterday or last year. But if the people value their children's intellectual development, they need to realize that turning learning into a race simply doesn't work. By definition, not everyone can win a contest. If one child wins, another cannot. This means that each child comes to regard others as obstacles to his or her own success and this is why competition is not good for people.
In almost everything we do, there is a winner and a loser, but society seems to think that giving out participation trophies is a great idea, even though it’s a flawed way of rewarding. In competitive activities, trophies are the reward for putting in the hard work into whatever you’re competing for and placing first, second, or third. The concept of “everyone gets a trophy,” whether you win or lose, is an insult for the victor... A trophy for everyone is not the best way to create a message that will help improve character development and humility. Moreover, teaching this next generation to learn how to lose is very important and is not discussed enough.
There is a misconception that competition is bad, if a child can experience the thrill of winning and the disappointment of losing, they will be well equipped for the reality of life. Competition provides stimulation to achieve a goal; to have determination, to overcome challenges, to understand that hard work and commitment leads to a greater chance of success. Life is full of situations where there are winners and losers; getting a job; a sports game; not getting into a desired college. People need to learn how to cope with disappointment and then to look forward to the next opportunity to try again. Competition also teaches us to dig deep and find abilities we never knew we had. The pressure to win or succeed can often inspire more imaginative thinking and inspire us to develop additional
Humans are naturally competitive and through athletics this competitiveness can be released in a positive and focused way. Competition is a basic function of nature. Those that can best compete with their environment survive. Those who can’t compete die out. Competition is a powerful drive in all humans. We compete as groups, against our selves, and each other. Sports give us a channel to let this out in a safe way.
...ere is no competition, our minds would remain idle. Competition also helps us to get back on our feet. There can be no failure without competition and not all failure is bad. Learning from failure and overcoming it also helps us with future hurdles in life. Although we might be setback by many obstacles on the way to achieving what we want, we should not brood over such minor matters. Instead, we should find out where we wrong and change for the better. We should not be stubborn and try to do things our way but search for alternative methods that will help us to obtain success. Competition may also do good for our character and personality. An over-confident person may keep doing things his or her way in hope of getting what they want. However, after experiencing many disappointing failures, this proud and narrow-minded person may be humbled in the process of attempting to reach his or her goal.