Photo Credit: Courtesy of NAYS
I don’t know what happened, but it seems like too many people are taking sportsmanship too far.
Take the case of the Gloucester Dragons Recreational Soccer program in Ottawa, Canada. The group created a ridiculous rule that any team winning a game by more than five goals will actually lose by default. That’s right--the winner will lose the game. How crazy is that? The rule was put in place in an effort to foster sportsmanship in the 3,000-player league, but those behind the decision are taking lots of heat for it--and why shouldn’t they? Players and parents are almost unanimous in their hatred of the rule, too. One parent said, “I couldn’t find anywhere in the world, even in a communist country, where that rule is enforced.”
Backward Approach
This demonstrates clearly why many people just can’t see the “forest for the trees” when it comes to organized youth sports. In their efforts to do what they think is best for young athletes, they are actually doing a greater disservice.