Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Character and competitive sports

"Winning is important. It is demeaning to dismiss the importance of victory by saying “it’s only a game.” Trying to win is essential. Without the passionate pursuit of victory, much of the enjoyment as well as the educational and spiritual value of sports would be lost."

I found this on the Character Counts newsletter. We are teaching our children fundamentals of the games. We also need to teach them how to win graciously and how to lose with pride. Knowing that they did their best is the best they can do.

"Winning ethically is better. The best strategy to improve sports is not to de-emphasize winning but to more vigorously emphasize the honorable pursuit of victory. It’s one thing to be declared the winner; it’s quite another to truly win. Victories attained dishonorably are hollow and degrade the concept of sport."

"Ethics and sportsmanship are ground rules. Demonstrating and developing good character should never be subordinated to the desire to win. The vital lessons of sports are learned from competition itself rather than the outcome."

It is important to teach sportsmanship in competition. Winning by truly doing your best and following the rules is the best win of all.

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