Monday, January 25, 2016

Just as a Note

I actually like that everyone in a YMCA league gets a trophy. And now I'm going to get into an unnecessarily complicated explanation of why.

Many people say that the YMCA--and their philosophy--devalue real athletic achievement because everyone is rewarded.

That's not the point.

What the YMCA is trying to do is instill into kids an appreciation and enjoyment of sports, and that enjoyment might in some way help them be both happier and more fit.

That's great. That's much more important than just giving the best team a trophy.

If a kid has true athletic potential and wants to seriously pursue sports, there will be plenty of times where he'll either win a trophy because he won or cry inconsolably because he didn't. There will be plenty of joy and pain to go around.

For the other kids, though, this might be the only time they play in organized sports. Why can't they have fun, get a trophy for playing, and be happy about what they've done?

Eli played in YMCA sports for years. It was a terrific foundation for him as a person, and that's more important than an athletic foundation.

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