Posted by rojasmas:
High school athletics aren't about winning. Or they shouldn't be. They are about kids and camraderie. Unfortunately, too many coaches and parents make them about winning and showing off. So spare me the high school harry histrionics, this is a Knicks website. No comparison. I pity poor kids who have to put up with the high school Knute Rocknes and Red Aurbachs wannabees. So many kids leave high school with a bad taste in their mouth because of their high school coach. Not because they lost, but because of the win at all costs mentality. In the pros you are supposed to win. In high school, you are supposed to have fun.
Did you read my post or did you just respond. I'm not about winning. I coach to teach kids how to play together as a team and to have higher standards for themselves. It's just amazing how winning always seems to accompany this. Lastly you sell high school kids short. Sports is a competive environment. Many have forgotten this. Kids play because they enjoy the competition along with the friendships they build. It's the parents who fear their kids losing who want the competition taken out of it. It's these kids that are sheltered from the concept of winning and losing that have low self-esteem when real life takes affect and winning and losing is there whether you like it or not. But if coach's teach kids the "right way" to play and what you are playing for, they can come out and lose every game(trust me this has happened to me before) and still come out excited, happy, with a sense of accomplishment.
Bottom line: if you do whatever it takes and give it your all to win, but instead you lose there is a certain amoutn of pride associated with the sacrifice and discipline in giving your all. When you pretend the purpose of the game(winning) does not exist and you don't raise your standards and then lose you often times feel an element of shame because you know in your heart you did not give your all. I have yet to have a kid spend more than a year with me and not come back and thank me. Parents too. The outsiders that hate disciplinrians seem to be the only one's that have a problem with it.
Lastly. I tell of my high school coaching not to preach but to give an idea of what shapes my opinion. I clearly made a side note so that if anyone is offended by it they did not have to read it. You clearly were offended by this. So why did you read it?
