Yes that’s right. Sports, in school. While I am old enough to be able to cheekily quip “I remember when they played MUSIC VIDEOS on MTV”, it never really occurred to me that I would ever be old enough to say I could remember when they used to teach sports in school.

I admit, I grew up in the land of Hoosiers. If you didn’t have a basketball in your hand by the time you walked, they might send you for an evaluation. But, I remember distinctly from first grade on, that each six week-period in physical education was devoted to one sport. Basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis….each six weeks we learned the fundamentals of a basic sport and the last two weeks of that time frame we actually played games.

Competitively.

I learned this weekend at a birthday party that this isn’t the case anymore. My son was involved in a game of kickball. At the age of eight I was a kickball ninja. My mom actually got a call from school regarding whether or not it was appropriate how vigorously I played kickball in a dress. My cheery 8-year-old walked up to the plate, grinned at me in the stands and said “I don’t know what we are doing!” – at which point all the other parents stared at me.

I’ve had him in a couple of organized little guy-level sports. Nothing that competitive, nothing that hardcore, because he’s little. I might’ve been a little more aggressive in getting him into something if it had occurred to me that he wasn’t learning anything at all in school. I guess that those parent-teacher conferences I have been going to haven’t actually covered this so I am remiss in not asking.

I muttered something about “Why didn’t they he learn this in school?” and was informed by the other parents that our county doesn’t teach competitive sports in elementary school.

Uh, what?

I suppose this is part of the society that gives “participation” ribbons and has cap and gown ceremonies for kindergartners like it’s some sort of accomplishment. But it’s not.

Here are a few words from an old ball kicker about sports and kids:

Kids have to learn to lose. It helps them learn how to win. Kids have to work hard and be achy and sore. It teaches them that anything worth accomplishing isn’t easy. Sports and competition can hone character and determination. They can teach us drive and desire. No one gets a “participation ribbon” in my world. You either won or you did not. If my kids get one, I tell them that those are for kids whose parents have no expectations of them.

Kids have to learn that it’s okay to lose. Nothing is handed to us. Competition pushes us to improve ourselves. Sometimes we fail, but sometimes we succeed in ways that we never even thought of.

I realize now that I’ve failed the boy. I fell into that trap of thinking that the school was covering things it covered when I was a kid. So while I am perusing the local parks departments to see when team signs ups are starting (basketball – January) I remind myself that he’s only 8. He’s not a Manning.

But no one in THIS house is going to third grade without knowing how to play kickball.

~clumberkim

View Original Post at draftdaysuit.com

• Filed Under:  
• SportsPLUS, Family/Parenting, Youth, Student-Athlete