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This last point is interesting
because many ‘authorities’ suggest that competition in youth sports is a ‘bad
thing’.
In NO CONTEST: The Case Against
Competition, for example, author Alfie Kohn insists that competition in
sports should be avoided at all costs. Kohn goes on to say that "children,
especially, are motivated to see what's enjoyable about an activity." Nothing,
he says, encourages excellence as much as finding a task fun. Artificial
incentives such as trophies, gold stars, and (presumably) the results of
assessments can kill what is known as "intrinsic motivation" or internal
rewards.
Others, (myself included), believe
that competition is good for children if appropriate feedback is provided and
equal weight given to the importance of values such as sportsmanship and fair
play. In fact, competition teaches young people not only to cope with sport, but
also helps them to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of life itself.
The studies also reveal that
socialisation related reasons are typically near the bottom of the list of
reasons children give for playing soccer while sportsmanship comes somewhere in
the middle.
It may be a surprise to learn that
winning and receiving awards (medals, trophies, etc) do not appear at all
among the main reasons.
It would appear that most children
want to play soccer so that they can participate in competitive sport (but not
necessarily win) and to develop the skills and fitness that will allow them to
play and compete as effectively as possible.
We can be sure, however, that all children play soccer because they
want to have fun.
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