Sometimes, You’re a Loser by Amanda Scarborough

[knightsb]

Sometimes, You’re a Loser

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everybody is not always a winner. We live in a society where everyone is scared to tell a kid that they lost and in a society where everybody gets a trophy or a ribbon, proclaiming they won. This just isn’t real life. How does this prepare a young player for the real world once sports are done...

....click on the link for the full article.

 

[nanotech14]

But, I wake up every morning and look in the mirror and tell myself that I'm a winner and that, dog gone it, people like me.

 

[RetiredCoach]

I sometimes think of a quote that I heard from a movie. A rich, competitive type guy had just lost a
lot of money betting on a fight. He is really angry and says to the winning fighter, "You lost me
a lot of money." The fighter says, "My mom used to tell me that the second best thing to playing and
winning is playing and losing." The rich guy seems mollified, shakes his head, and heads on his way.

I think that it is about playing the game. Playing to win and having fun either way. Some softball
coaches egos are apparently so fragile that they do things like play an "A" team at the "B" level. Dump
or not play long time team members when someone better comes along. When you do that are you
really a winner?

 

[iMlearning]

Nice

Nice post Retiredcoach!

 

[CoogansBluff]

The article has some good points, but frankly I think it's kinda trite.

I still have a trophy from 1974 when my 10U basketball team finished second in a THREE-team league, which makes me laugh thinking back on it. Not only that, but we got them, as I recall, because we were jealous that the head coach of the first-place team bought trophies for his players. They brought them to school and were showing them off. So the coach - what a pansy he must've been - decided to give us trophies because he said we were champions in his heart.

I still enjoy thinking back on that story. I figure I had a coach who cared about us and wanted us to have fun with basketball. It's just a game, and we had good times playing together that season. Have a trophy. See you next season.

Glad I had a coach when I was 10 who didn't take himself and the game so seriously that he felt it was his duty to teach some life-changing lesson about winners and losers in the world.

Then again, maybe if I didn't get that trophy I would've been a better person in the long run. Guess I'll never know.

 

[T.J.]

And so it's true, pride comes before a fall

I'm telling you so that you won't lose all

 

[Sweet Lou]

I think that it is about playing the game. Playing to win and having fun either way. Some softball
coaches egos are apparently so fragile that they do things like play an "A" team at the "B" level. Dump
or not play long time team members when someone better comes along. When you do that are you
really a winner?

This is a good post. Though I think there is a fine line between teach the lessons of wanting to win and not getting to like losing versus teaching win at all costs.

I think the former is good and the later is bad.

 

[knightsb]

I think that it is about playing the game. Playing to win and having fun either way.

I think it is about learning to overcome adversity, Playing to win, but getting back up and trying even if you lose.

 

[RetiredCoach]

I remember being an AC for a recreational league with the stated goals of having fun and
developing softball skills. So far, so good. Anyway, after a loss the HC gathered us around
and told us of all the changes he was going to make to put us on a winning track (i.e. pitch
only the best pitcher (his DD) sit the bad players as much as he could get away with, etc.)

I asked him, "Why do you want to do that? This is a rec league."

He said, "I think that the girls are sick of losing".

I looked over at the team and they were running around and having fun. They did the same
thing after they won, too.

 

[Sweet Lou]

In our rec league sometimes the first question from 3 or 4 girls on the team after the game is over is - "Who won?"