to play or not to play...there is no question

jess's tft post got my mind brewing a bit.  i'll put a slightly different twist to it.  the idea behind my comment was that there was a lot to be learned in both winning and losing.  how about playing sports in general?  in our household we've talked about the number of sports our kids will be allowed to play when they get old enough.  i won't specify which opinion was mine and which was the wifey's but basically one of us said they each can play one sport and the other said they can play however many they choose, provided it's one per season.  we've also discussed which sports we'd like them to play and which ones we prefer they didn't.  in either case, there was never any question about whether or not they should play sports.  so there is my question.  do you plan on letting your kid(s) play sports?  will you force (or strongly encourage) them to play?  why or why not? 

so here's my opinion.  back in the day, my brothers, pops, and i were down in the cities watching the basketball state tournament and on the scoreboard they gave some statistic about high school athletes being X amount less likely to do drugs than non student-athletes.  granted, you can make statistics say whatever you want, but i can see how a structured schedule, time consumption, the need to stay in shape, etc. can keep kids off drugs.  i also think that parents will have 99% of the influence on drug use, though.  but anyway, it got me thinking about how much sports or being on a team can help you out in life in general.  i think it's bullet time.

• the most obvious answer is teamwork.  most people will be working with other people in some form or another for the rest of their working life.  team sports help you learn to deal with different personalities and hopefully teach you how to bring out the best from each type of person.
• tempers.  ever had to control your anger at work?  no?  you're lying lol...or maybe you haven't worked with some moron government workers :)
• work ethic.  if you ain't making the cut, work harder in the offseason.  yes, some people may be born with more natural talent, but competition will only make you better...with the right...
• attitude.  you can learn a lot about your own attitude (and others' for that matter) going through both good and bad times on the court/field/ice.  how you choose to let it affect your attitude will be the same in the real world.
• maybe just one more example.  once again, pops left me with another 'golden nugget' for life.  you will always have a boss.  i've since modified that to say that there is only one person in this world who doesn't have a boss in life.  who is that person?  most people would say the president of the united states.  wrong.  he has a boss, too...but his wife...she's the one that doesn't have a boss :)  anyway, on to my point.  the lamest excuse i've ever heard from people who quit a team is "i don't like the coach."  if you've done this, i apologize if i've offended you.  but hear me out.  are you always going to like you're boss?  are you going to quit your job every time you don't?  recently jess was able to rid herself of her tirant pyscho of a boss, but she also had to put up with her for how many years before she was able to put herself in a position to do it (and kudos to you, cuz, for making it happen!!)  so the bottom line is that you learn to deal (and work productively) with people whom you absolutely hate. 

these are just a few of the life lessons i've learned through sports.  there are a thousand others, but you're probably already asleep or on to your next blog so i'll stop here.  so let me know your thoughts...am i way off?  do you agree?  do you have any other good ones that you've learned?  there's a whole other can of worms that i could open on leadership, but i'll only do it if you ask me to.  happy friday tomorrow...

Comments

[kim]

umm... yeah. obviously we will be encouraging max to play sports. he already has four baseball bats and has never taken a swing.

sports are a fabulous learning opportunity... either team sports or individual. i think that, to a point, you can also get that same experience with band, choir, theater, etc... but the winning/losing aspect of it is greater in sports.

the college baseball program tom played in and now coaches in teaches you how to be a person as much as it teaches you how to be a baseball player. all the main philosophies of their program apply to life off the field, in many different ways. of the hundreds of players that have came through the program, not a single one of them, as far as the current coaching staff is aware of, has ever gotten divorced. i was interested to find out that's something they actually tell the parents of recruits.

[Jessica]

ok i could write a book on coaches. but i won't go there. because it wouldn't be pretty. but you're right. did teach me something. and that something is that "life is not fair". period.

james is in as many sports as he wants to be in provided they don't overlap. his dad and i share the philosophy that idle hands are the devil's work. :) plus it's just plain good for him. jocks also need to keep their grades up.

as far as leadership goes, i have a feeling you would write something similar to what my husband always says he learned in the military. go ahead if you're compelled!

[jenny]

yes, we will be encouraging tucker to play sports. i say he can play whatever he wants. matt says he can play whatever he wants (except hockey). riiiiight. he's got a good arm right now so i'm thinking he'll be a quarterback, a pitcher, or both. :)

i agree a lot with what kim (and you) said. there are so many different things you learn that you apply to LIFE. it helps mold you into the person you are. i very much think it is beneficial for a child to be involved in any kind of activity that allows them to grow.

[Tim]

Megan and I have had this discussion some. We both played three sports, or at least were on the teams. There's plenty of debate about how much I actually played. Like most of us that played in the Bay, we've had some good coaches and some bad. I've actually probably learned as much from bad (a JV bball coach comes to mind) as I have from good.

As mentioned in posts above, many of the lessons learned from sports can also be learned from many other activities, so beyond just sports, we'll encourage whatever activities our child whishes to pursue. If they don't show any interest on their own, we'll probably force them to do something, whatever they want, and if they don't like it after a year, they can try something different. Quitting bball my senior year was one of the things I'd change if I could do it all over, but it's only one of many lessons I learned.