Christina...
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2011
- Messages
- 5,028
rainwood|1380235096|3527932 said:I am mystified by how many people equate the mercy rule with "kids won't learn about failure" or "everyone gets a trophy." A kid on a team that's getting beaten by 35 points is going to know PLENTY about failure and there isn't anything in the rule that says they get a trophy for losing.
What important life lesson is a kid going to learn getting beaten by 65 points that they didn't learn getting beaten by 35 points. That the other team is a lot better? They already know that. That sometimes you lose? They already know that too. That maybe they aren't very good athletes? They'll know plenty about that if they get beaten by 35 points, especially if it happens more than once. What they WON'T learn is that it isn't a sportsmanlike thing to rub your opponent's face in a loss. You can argue whether 35 points is the right number, but the principle really is about sportsmanship and doing the right thing, and I'm disheartened that so many don't seem to value that. But as Kenny says, people vary.
I was an athlete all through High School and College and I can tell you with absolute certainty that the most heartbreaking losses were the small ones. I would much prefer to lose by 100 than by 2. So what then? Do we create a law stating that teams must win by more than 2 but less than 35 because anything else is unsportsmanlike? I learned more from my loses than I ever did from my wins. I learnt to leave it all out on the floor, to give it everything I had, quitting was not an option, that I wouldn't be able to go back and change the clock one it buzzed, to work harder, to be stronger. I learnt to be gracious and kind, how to work with a team. It also taught me that if I wanted to be a winner that I was going to have to be dedicated and committed and that if I wasn't willing to give it everything I had then maybe the sport wasn't where I should be focusing all my attentions, that maybe my talents lied elsewhere. I learned sportsmanship through my experiences, through the small loses AND the BIG ones. And while good sportsmanship is important, it's not the only thing that participating in sports should be teaching kids. Had I always been told how wonderful I was I wouldn't have worked so hard, if I knew I would letter in every sport, I wouldn't have had the same ambition, if I knew that every athlete would be viewed with the same talent, I wouldn't have spent hours in the backyard shooting free throws until after midnight. No, there is much more to learn from participating in sports than just sportsmanship. Being allowed to fail is one of them. Consider it character building instead of an unkindness.