Keeping Youth Athletics in Perspective

It's very tempting in our society, which has made youth sports out to be some sort of religious cult requiring the most extreme devotion,  to lose sight of the true value of sports activities for our kids. Hopefully we did not get them involved so we could live vicariously through them or with the expectation that they will always win and go pro. It's common to get so caught up in winning, gaining elite skills, and pursuing athletic scholarships (which become a huge burden and a full-time job for the student, often taking priority over studying or attending classes), that we forget that the greatest benefit and reason for putting our kids in sports is for their personal character development.  Sports may shape our kids' lives, but they must not consume their lives. 

Sports activities teach kids to work as a team, putting the interests of the whole above one's own interests. They teach patience, dedication, discipline, and perseverance. They teach respect for authority, respect for one's peers, and respect for the limits of one's own physical body. Sports give young people practice overcoming adversities and expose them to important realities about life such as: life isn't fair; things don't always go your way; you are not the best, and you are not the worst, so stop comparing and just be all that God created you to be!

A few weeks ago, my daughter and a few other 8th graders ran a relay together at their first ever high-school polar bear track meet. It was a new experience, and it was cold! It was humbling running against the older, more experienced high school girls (3 out of 4 girls on her relay team had never run track before at all, and our daughter had only run middle school track one short season). It was a great chance for them to develop courage.

Our daughter ran the anchor leg, and by the time she got the baton for the last lap, at least one high school team had finished, which is not surprising given her team's age and experience. Based on the video her coach sent me, she was at least 200-300 meters behind the next-to-last runner. In real life, when most people see no chance of winning or when they see the large gap between where they are now and where they want to be, they give up. Our girl had already run 3 events, and she certainly couldn't win this one, so why strive to eek out more effort when she was already spent simply to lose anyway? That's a typical response for the "entitled" generations. But youth sports instill a different attitude. They teach kids that giving their very best effort is what matters. Sports inspire the determination to never give up. So my girl took that baton, prayed, and gave it her best effort. And you know what? She didn't finish 200-300 meters behind the next to last runner. In fact, she passed the high schooler who probably never expected our team to come close.

 

You just never know what might happen if you simply give your best, not for the purpose of bringing yourself glory, but only for the glory of God. Those are the types of life lessons that we want our children to gain through their sports activities, and I'm thankful for every single one.