It’s time for class and the children are all prepared for sport, feeling confident and expecting to achieve and win.
However, sometimes things don’t go as planned – we may not do as well as expected, someone or some team may perform better and we end up feeling disappointed. This is one of those life lessons that a child can take from the field through their life.
There is a common misconception in sport that effort results in rewards – whilst it is true to an extent, many people do not realize that the other team and other athletes are trying just as hard as we are. And in most sports – there is always only one winner – think about the Olympics 100m sprint – it is fairly certain that all the athletes in the final have trained hard, prepared, felt confident enough – but in the end, only one Bolt wins. Again, learning to lose, as well as how to win, is something that we teach our kids at Shaws Little League. It is one of children's sport lessons that will stay with them for life as a life lesson.
So, what can we do to help children (and ourselves) overcome this disappointment when things don’t go as planned? As is inevitable, both on and off the field.
At Shaws Little League, we emphasize the following:
– Remember other children are trying just as hard and it may not be possible to win all the time and that’s okay.
– Practice makes for improvement, so our coaches focus on ongoing skill development. Slow but steady can win the race. As long as we never stop getting up, we are winning.
– The score does not matter – but effort does, so we keep the children playing and trying to score goals and hit the ball well.
– Winning is not important, but having the will to win is (again, fall down eight times, get up nine).
– Whether you win or lose, there is always an opportunity next week to do even better, as long we keep showing up. A big part of life is just about showing up and putting in the effort.
At Shaws Little League, we are not trying to find the best young child, or having the winning under 8’s team – very rarely are these things an indicator of whether the children will succeed in the future. Also, these things really don’t matter to a child. We feel that children are more engaged, motivated and satisfied when they are part of a meaningful competition, when they have been given a chance to improve their skills and when they participate actively.
This is how Shaws Little League focuses on the whole child. Come join us for a toddler sport class or a children's sport class and see what we’re all about.