Geburtstag

Wake up at 6:30 to make black tea and fix the traditional German breakfast, and find that Germans also eat birthday cake and open presents at this time... biggest surprise of the day.  Birthdays are very important in Germany.  Apparently, the other children also get one small present each.  As I was not privy to this situation, I made my way to the Lego store to Wittenbergplatz in the afternoon.

Later in the day, I went to the Birthday boy's fußball practice. While I was there, I had the chance to actually analyze the importance of childhood sports.  Like any conceptual brainstorming framework, it started with reminiscing over my own experience with organized sports through high school, which then progressed into the benefits of organized sports, how they can be improved, and which aspects of sport need to be focused on in order to enhance and enrich the experience for the youth involved.

One of the most important points to consider is: NOT ALL CHILDREN WILL BE OLYMPIC ATHLETES, in fact most children will not be.  In fact, that should not be the main drive to participate in any sport, especially not a team sport. Engaging in a youth sport should be about well-being.  Within team sports, the main focus should be on building positive interpersonal relationships with others while working towards a common goal.  And yes, as you guessed, I don't think that goal should be victory.  The aim should be to improve as a team, and to learn the weaknesses and strengths of your teammates so that the team works as a cohesive unit in victory or in an attempt to achieve victory.  Watching a winning team that does not work as a team is boring, just as watching a team that haphazardly losses their wits is painful.  However, watching a team that works well together is exciting.  That is why so many people cheer on the underdog, because of the character of the team.  Visually you can see the effort that the teammates have put into each other as well as into the game. This lesson is so valuable to the growth of children and is accessible through sports.  Yet, it is highly dependent on the environment created by the coach.  When players are older, they may be able to create this on their own without support from the coach/es, but the onus lies on the coach to create this environment in youth sports.

(There was also a period where I was brainstorming how a youth sports team could build team support that had a reach farther than the field, aka camaraderie, regardless of income level/geographic region/social limitations of team.)

Yes, I have two points of reference that I was thinking about in particular. My JV and Varsity Lacrosse Coach was the worst coach I have ever had in this regard.  Firsthand, I saw how her personal attitude dissected the team into unequal parts, and her lack of understanding of the spirit of the team created an unhealthy environment of individualism within a team sport.  My college rugby team is, quite obviously, the other side of the coin.  However, the strategies utilized there would have to be initiated by the coach on a youth sports team.  (Their social activities might also need to be a bit different ;) )

Of course I am biased in that I really do like like the cut-throat nature of competition.  I do not think that culture in sports benefits anyone involved.  It merely perpetuates the conception of acceptable violence. Competition for competition's sake has never been appealing to me, but when there is a goal with others in mind than it is bearable. My viewpoint on this issue has changed since childhood, but after my experience in Lacrosse in high school, I realized how unhealthy the thirst for competition for the sake of  a short winded victory was.