OP ED Rough Draft

Saundra Johnson
Christy Vance
English 102
12 November 2009
Is Winning Most Important”
In today’s competitive world of organized youth sports too much emphasis and pressures have been placed upon children to excel and produce winning results. Todd Roberts, coach and father to a gymnast, believes “We compete to take first place, or we don’t compete at all.” This has strongly influenced his daughter’s aggressive thinking even towards her fellow teammate whom she perceives to be a threat to her place on the podium.
PhD. Michael Kanters states a child’s development and socialization are mainly influenced by their parents. Studies have been done to demonstrate that young athletes imitate the attitude and actions of their parents. Many parents feel they are aiding their child to implement their dreams, but is it the child’s or the parent’s dream?
Sally White, journalist for medicine and science in sports wrote: parents, who make different attributions and hold different beliefs regarding the relative importance of effort versus outcome, may communicate those beliefs to their children, thereby influencing their children’s achievement-related cognition and subsequent behavior. In other words, as parents of athletes, we have some bearing on their behaviors and attitudes when it comes to participation and sportsmanship in their sport.
With the strong, competitive nature of sports, parents can unintentionally be overly aggressive without realizing their approach because they desire what is paramount for their competitor. Often, this creates a negative experience for their child. I agree winning is gratifying, but there has to be an improved method for encouraging our athletes to achieve their gifted abilities without crushing their spirits. Ann Michelle Davis wrote “Developing the appropriate atmosphere could certainly make a positive vehicle for youth development with cooperation skills are taught in the sports environment of the competitive arena.” This illustrates the idea of encouraging and fostering good sportsmanship while being competitive with other participants.
Author T. Orlick, composed “people playing with one another rather than against another, they play to overcome challenges, not to overcome people, and they are freed by the very structure of the game to enjoy the play experience itself” This philosophy enables the young athlete to view their participation as a learning prospect to advance their skills and appreciate the talent of their rivals to enhance their abilities.
If coaches and parents utilized the cooperation style in the mindset of their players, then teammates would view the individual efforts of each other as being important as the skill of each member. This would foster encouragement among players to conquer challenges, not conquer people. Therefore, each team member would put forth their best endeavors and skill in order to help the team attain its objective of being the finest.
I agree that effort does produce results, but young athletes need to be taught good sportsmanship qualities in a positive reinforced setting. Pressures need to be reduced on our young participates; so they can take pleasure in the activity of their sport. Parents have the ability to mold the minds of their young competitors through example.