psychologists
often blame parents and coaches for being too demanding. By placing cessive emphasis on winning, children miss the learning opportunities sports can
offer. In such circumstances, the sports experience uncovers negative, draining and
harmful consequences, canceling out the many desirable effects of sports
7 Sports teach much more than what is easily seen on the surface. Young athletes learn
something every time they step onto the field. It does much more than just keep young
bodies in shape and growing at healthy rates. Sports give youth a sense of self-worth
and accomplishment and teach them to deal capably with failure and success. It helps
them learn the ways of the world, the benefits of hard work and determination, and
how to coexist with others to achieve a common goal, even with other team members
they may not particularly like! It allows youth to find a role they can fil, then to
change or adapt to that role, and, over time, to grow and redefine who they are and
who they will become. These are all traits that can be extremely useful in the real
world, and developing such traits at an early age paves the way for success later in life
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