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This is the
final part of three part look competition in
school and sports. While this is the final
official article on this series, we are not
done looking at it. The reality is that when
I started this I had very little
understanding at how wide this issue
actually was or the passion with which
people felt on both sides of the arguments.
I am writing this to wrap up the "series"
and to segue into my new regular feature
column which will look at a lot of these
issues in smaller pieces. This article
created a lot more questions for me and I
want to be able to pursue a lot of aspects
with lots of reader input.
Competition in
sports are obvious. The sports themselves
are competitive in nature. Teams compete
against other teams in sports like soccer
and football and individuals compete against
other individuals in sports like cross
country and track.
There are also
team concepts in cross country and track
that I am only beginning to understand but
the goal is still the same; beat the other
runners.
I posed a lot
of questions to those of you who read these
articles when I posted them months ago. I
was overwhelmed with the responses, and the
passion behind the responses.
Every question
I posed had replies that supported both
sides to the argument. Almost all of the
responses were from people that have
passionate feelings about their opinions.
While some beliefs are held by more people
than others, there were very arguments that
were one sided.
Most of us
have formed our beliefs from our own
experiences. Whether it was our own from
when we growing up, or from watching our
children's experiences as they grow up we
all have experiences that helped mold our
opinions.
The thing that
I learned from reading most of the responses
is there may not be a best way, or a wrong
way to approach the different questions.
There are more likely compromises that need
to be made as time goes on and our children
get involved as parents and leaders in youth
sports and make adjustments based on what
they believe were the short comings from
their experiences.
I personally
believe Windham Sports Programs have come a
long way since I was growing up in town a
few decades ago. Rules have been put in
place to help more kids develop in each
sport and there are a lot more opportunities
for our kids to play sports they are
passionate about throughout the year if they
choose.
From my
perspective, one of the best changes has
been to take the emphasis off winning games
and placed it where it belongs, teaching all
of the kids the skills of the game. This has
been the most apparent to me in Little
League with the pitch counts.
The cap on the
maximum number of pitches a little leaguer
may throw probably started out to save young
arms from over use but has also opened the
doors for a lot more hopeful pitchers to be
able to take the mound. This is good for the
kids and good for the program.
The players
win because they are having more fun if they
get to do the things they want. Long gone
are the days of the least skilled player
getting ignored in right field and not being
given a chance to get involved in the game
and developing skills that will make them a
better ball player.
That is also
what makes this good for Windham baseball as
a whole. The program benefits by giving the
least skilled player an opportunity to have
fun by being involved. To learn the skills
to become a better ballplayer by being
involved. They may also want to stay in the
program longer because they are having fun
and becoming better ball players.
Most people
agreed that youth sports should be all
inclusive to build the skills of every kid
who wants to put in the effort. There are
differing opinions as to when that should
change. Suggestions from youth leagues to
after high school were offered in the
responses.
The one
question that was overwhelmingly one sided
was in regards to the new grading system.
Not one person responded that they or their
children understood the new report cards.
Most people felt the way I do, that the old
system motivated more children to do perform
better simply because they knew what they
had to do to move their grade from a B to an
A while most felt the new system was too
subjective with little objective criteria
for students to understand.
While this
informal survey is far from scientific, it
does raise the question that if there is so
much opposition why is nothing being done
about it? Maybe the people who do agree with
the current grading system aren't passionate
enough to speak up for it or didn't feel the
need to speak up for it.
Another
interesting aspect of this series was that
almost every single respondent did so
anonymously, and those that did identify
themselves to me asked for anonymity. I
can't speak for those who didn't identify
themselves, but the ones that did asked for
anonymity stated they were afraid their
views were outside the norm and they didn't
want to be ostracized for holding different
views, or they didn't want their children to
be held back from opportunities because of
their opinions.
I can assure
everyone that your anonymity will be
respected, and that no one was alone their
opinions. Maybe we had more honest responses
because people were allowed to answer
anonymously and I want to make sure those
honest responses continue so that we can
have a dialogue that can possibly help fine
tune some of the ways we approach sports and
school to make Windham the best it can be.
So while this
little series didn't answer a lot of the
questions I had, it has lead me in a new
direction. I will be writing my first new
column over the weekend. I am going to write
it from my view point. I don't expect
everyone to agree with me, and I am not
trying to push my views on other people.
I am not
trying to attack anyone who volunteers with
any youth sports program or any teacher. My
point of view is based on opinions I have
had for a long time, long before I had
children, long before I knew what the
current rules were for any of the youth
sports programs. I have a lot of respect for
anyone who volunteers their time to make
opportunities available for our children.
I am trying to
make people think about the way we do things
and about differing views on how to do those
things. My hope is that by saying some of
the things I believe it will inspire others
to do the same and get involved in the
discussions by sending me their opinions
privately or posting in the forums. People
can do either one anonymously. I will never
reveal anyone's identity.
I hope that
anyone who feels they have been singled out,
or that their opinions have been attacked
will contact me directly to discuss it. I
can assure you that I am speaking in
generalities. I hope that everyone will read
these columns with an open mind, and listen
to opposing view points. I encourage you to
speak up for what you believe. Maybe an
opinion I have has been tried, or discussed
and it wasn't feasible. I am not asking you
to defend yourself or your actions, just an
exchange of ideas. Free and open exchanges
of ideas and opinions not only lead to
change, they also lead to a wider
understanding of why some things are the way
they are.
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