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sports: what is the point?


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I find it interesting that so many people draw a sharp line of distinction between "sports" and think strictly of basketball/baseball/soccer/football vs "other stuff" (golf/dance/martial arts/rowing/equestrian/etc) and lump in equally organized and disciplined activities into this alternative category as if we are having two different conversations.

 

In terms of pursuing the activity in a serious manner, practicing regularly, having some coaching, often practicing or playing with a familiar group of people, there is no distinction between these activities. Competition isn't necessarily a requirement, even if many choose it.

 

Ballet and karate are as vigorous as soccer, and more consistently cardiovascular than baseball. Dancers are tough athletes. Golfers must be very flexible and coordinated through their core. Each sport offers up something, and they are all sports.

 

The point in the context we have been discussing is fitness, and any of these can get you there. I just thought it was interesting that people were trying to separate them out, even beyond the team/individual fit for their DC.

 

 

Absolutely correct. I was considering gymnastics to be a sport, competitive or not. They're pretty tough athletes too. ;)

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I'm not against it. It's just not a feeling I have (a sense of wanting to be better at something than someone else).

 

I don't want to be better, I just don't want to be the loser! ;)

 

Man, I was thinking this was a diss about football season coming on. :boxing_smiley:

 

Now I read, I understand.

 

Carry on...

 

:tongue_smilie:

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Our problem is finding something they can do while tweens/teens that is beginner. Older dd would have liked to play basketball or volleyball at the local middle school, but you had to try out and these girls had been playing since they were very young. We didn't have the money for dds to play sports when they were young. They were active, but not in team sports.

 

When I was younger, starting in middle school was the norm, now they start much younger. Our girls played many sports with us at home, but not part of an actual team while younger. So, they're basically way behind by the time they're twelve ~ which, to me, is crazy.

 

Since this is the norm in our area, they're now involved in run clubs/track and swimming. Older is competitive, so it's difficult for her since so many had different advantages. Younger doesn't really care, so all is good there.

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Sports are one way to achieve certain goals. They are not the only way.

 

I read a great column several years ago by John Rosemond. I don't agree with everything he writes (although he seems to be supportive of homeschooling ;)). But I liked what he wrote in this particular article. In essence, he said that we shouldn't hyperfocus on making our kids the next Tiger Woods. (This was before Tiger's fall from grace -- he was still the "It" guy back then.) Anyway, Rosemond went on to say that if Tiger had taken all the drive that he invested in golf and put it into something else -- say, medicine -- who knows what he might have achieved in that arena? Good food for thought. :)

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Sports are one way to achieve certain goals. They are not the only way.

 

I read a great column several years ago by John Rosemond. I don't agree with everything he writes (although he seems to be supportive of homeschooling ;)). But I liked what he wrote in this particular article. In essence, he said that we shouldn't hyperfocus on making our kids the next Tiger Woods. (This was before Tiger's fall from grace -- he was still the "It" guy back then.) Anyway, Rosemond went on to say that if Tiger had taken all the drive that he invested in golf and put it into something else -- say, medicine -- who knows what he might have achieved in that arena? Good food for thought. :)

 

But being speculative here, Tiger Woods may not have the drive or interest or talent for medicine. You have to go with your kids' interests and drive also and you don't have to hyperfocus on it. Some kids have a great talent for a particular sports and others have a great talent for medicine. I still think what Tiger Woods accomplished was phenomenal in spite of his personal life. There are great doctors and other professionals out there who have had their own fall from grace also.

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Just out of curiosity, why do some dislike competition so much?

I'm just curious as to what the motivation is.

 

I dislike competition at too young an age. I believe that learning the skills for the activity, learning to enjoy the physical movement, having fun, meeting other people, and getting lots and lots of play time is the best for early development.

 

I've seen too many kids lose interest, get injured, and get turned off sport way too young because of an early push into competition. For example, ice hockey is very popular in Canada, and there is a "development" program, but it is only for 5 and 6 year olds, then the kids have try-outs for teams, they have to chose very early in their hockey "career" whether they will play recreational house-league or try for the competitive teams. For boys who physically develop quite late, they may completely miss out on playing competitive when it is physically optimal for them. In Sweden, their competitive hockey doesn't start until age 12. Up until then they work on developing skills in the children. It is such a superior method, in my view.

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Sports are good if your child is attuned to them. They are also good for learning how to be part of something you can't control, for being able to recover from letting others down, for learning how not to crow when you do a great job, and for developing a body's skills as well as the mind's.

 

I kinda get frustrated when classical educators demote sports to nothing-burger status--this is NOT a classical tenet. The mind and the body are part of who we are and both should be developed.

 

 

:iagree: All my kid's are enrolled in sports activities--even the one who's klutzy like her mom. I've noticed that sports help DS focus on school work (its amazing how much better he sits after racing a few laps or practicing his soccer drills). And the confidence that the non-athletic one gets after mastering a swim stroke or getting the soccer ball past her brother just can't be replaced. I don't know how to explain how or why mastering one's body helps one master one's mind, but it absolutely works. It also works in a different way than finishing a carpentry project or completing a really good practice at chorus.

 

Are sports everything? No. DS loves baseball but we think he's too young for little league and fall ball. Sports (whether it be track, swim, tennis, baseball, soccer, or TKD) are an important part of a balanced life. Even the Supreme Court thinks so--there's a basketball court on the grounds of SCOTUS.

 

BTW, Dh played varsity tennis and still gets on the courts. We've participated in work and church softball teams, and have friends who play pickup basketball at the gym. I think a basic working knowledge of softball, volleyball and basketball are important for everyone to have. I'm not very good, but at least I don't look like a complete fool when I join in at the summer picnic.

Edited by ChristineW
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We are not huge on team sports, so we miss out on team building, but, we do it for building body skills, fun, being well rounded, fresh air, exercise. We do tennis, archery, fencing and that sort of thing. We usually involve private coachs. My youngestdaughter loves dance too. Many team sports we tried were attended by overwrought, screaming and mean parntse, some of whom were shut down by me, who had to tell them to not yell mean or obscene things to my four yr old over tball!

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We are not huge on team sports, so we miss out on team building, but, we do it for building body skills, fun, being well rounded, fresh air, exercise. We do tennis, archery, fencing and that sort of thing. We usually involve private coachs. My youngestdaughter loves dance too. Many team sports we tried were attended by overwrought, screaming and mean parntse, some of whom were shut down by me, who had to tell them to not yell mean or obscene things to my four yr old over tball!

 

It's so sad, but this can be the case with some competitive sports where the parents build their own egos through their children's sport. Just let the kids play and have fun.

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All of our children play organized sports. At any given time of the year, multiple children are involved in volleyball, basketball, softball, baseball, and soccer in the past. It is how our family chooses to spend a large amount of our time and money resources. Some are competitive and some are rec level and my husband has coached several different sports over the years. The thing is, we love it. The kids love playing, my husband loves coaching, and I love watching. Several sports are played with a homeschool athletic association and it gives our kids peers. They play with the same kids year after year and it allows them to develop relationships with other homeschooled kids which I think is especially important in the high school years. It keeps them busy and out of trouble and it gives them something to work hard at. I won't go into what we think are the benefits from organized sports because I think other people have already covered them along with the negatives. I do think that every family has to make their own priorities. I recognize that our choices would not work for everyone, but they work for our family.

JME,

Joy

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I have seen many kids who flat out don't know how to run.

 

I had to laugh at this. My dd12 is an assistant karate instructor, very talented, and coordinated on the mats, spars very well. She's an above-average softball pitcher, plays tennis very well, and can shoot a basket with the boys just fine... and still runs like a toddler. :001_huh: She's just not very fluid with that particular motion -- but she is very fluid with all the rest of them, so I don't worry about her.

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It seems like those who are not into sports themselves or who do not have children into sports don't see the benefits of it. There are many benefits related to engaging in sports activities and I don't have time to read this entire thread so I'll assume they have been discussed and yes, they are similar to the benefits of other activities. Some kids prefer the arts and music areas while others prefer sports.

 

I have kids in each camp and we go with whatever their interests are. Each has been exposed to music, art, and different sports over the years and each has chosen their area of interest. None of their activities is parent driven (well, we do drive them to and from so we do a lot of driving...LOL) Telling my wrestler that he would get the same benefits from music would be as foreign to him as telling my violinist she needs to play a sport...though my wrestler is also a good drummer and my violinist gets lots of physical activity from jumping on the trampoline, doing cartwheels, and running in the yard. The just would not want to do without their favorites.

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It seems like those who are not into sports themselves or who do not have children into sports don't see the benefits of it.

 

I have found this to be true of academics as well. ;)

 

I have kids in each camp and we go with whatever their interests are. Each has been exposed to music, art, and different sports over the years and each has chosen their area of interest. None of their activities is parent driven (well, we do drive them to and from so we do a lot of driving...LOL) Telling my wrestler that he would get the same benefits from music would be as foreign to him as telling my violinist she needs to play a sport...though my wrestler is also a good drummer and my violinist gets lots of physical activity from jumping on the trampoline, doing cartwheels, and running in the yard. The just would not want to do without their favorites.

 

This is different than saying there are benefits found uniquely in sports, which is what I was getting at. I think letting kids find and pursue a passion, and viewing that as beneficial, is different than arguing that organized sports are important in and of themselves. Through the thread, I had come to the same belief that you seem to be stating though, so no worries! :tongue_smilie:

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