Sports is a great thing and it can teach our children everything from pro-social values to fitness and proper recreational outlets. While most sports programs teach us odd concepts likes sportsmanship and confidence there are others that teach improper values. How we develop our sports programs, the coaches we pick, and culture we create help determine its value to society.
Let me say first. I'm a sports fan lover and think that sports are excellent, and in most cases a benefit to our youth and society. There are some times when it makes more sense to give kids a new pair of running shoes and set them down the track than millions (...but that debate between fitness, education, and gladiator arenas has been going on for a long time.)
A long time ago sports trained us for war. We played foot ball to learn teamwork and coordination, polo for mounted cavalry, and joisting for well....jousting. Running fast was helpful and so was the relay of important battle communications. Communities came out to support their warriors because they knew the games value.
Sports has become part of our daily lives and the culture of sports has changed. It is now an end in and of itself versus a method of societal preparation. Colleges use it to raise their PR and people play it for the social benefits. Nothing wrong with that! That's all dandy!
There are some sports cultures that begin to look more clannish and take on flavors that are destructive. Sports should teach us how to act and interact with each other, build confidence in our physical abilities, encourage community support, and develop a sense of togetherness. At least that should be what they are doing!
When sports take on exclusivity and poor values what was sweet now turns sour. Instead of inclusivity we teach exclusivity (sometimes includes bigotry), instead of building confidence in our bodies we instead build overconfidence in our physical abilities (i.e. bullying), where community support is helpful the acceptance of blind support is not (lack of critical thinking within one's social networks), and where a sense of togetherness should be come about we opt for entitlement.
The difference is beneficial and unbeneficial sports programs is based in their ability to hire the right people to teach both proper values as well as proper mechanics in the sport. Just like we internalize through muscle memory how to throw a ball, hit a golf club, or catch a football we also learn certain values within our sport's groups. Having the right people in place to teach our kids prosocial sports values is half of the reason for its existence (....if not could we give each kid a 3+X a weekly exercise routine, a nutrition, and a copy of the Art of War. Might be cheaper? 🤷)
Most of the people who I met who play sports are excellent people. I've seen ex amateur sports players from high school 30 + years who grew up to be adults their kids would be proud of (FYI most of the professional sports players I met are humble people). There are others within that same crowd who did not grow up to be healthy adults and seem to relish in ignorance. They turned into followers who lacked critical insight (...by the way talking about how "great" they once were in sports and how "everyone" wants to be like them". Yuck!😕 Small stale fish.)
If you asked me what the advantages of sports is to students I will give you a laundry list as a self-proclaimed sports lover and enthusiast. With that list I will write a few things you might keep in mind when pondering the future of local sports.....
1. Make sure your coaches have pro-social values and teaching the kids proper societal behaviors.
2. Make sure the costs of the program have an actual benefit and enhance kids life in some way or another.
3. Teach kids how to think independently and also within a group (both skills are important.)
4. Remove parents who engage in racism, bigotry and bullying (and who teach their kids the same.)
5. Listen to what the public wants (not just your friends) and not just those within your community.
Sports is a pathway to learning and what we teach our young sports players is highly dependent on the coaches and the parents. When our parents fail....it leaves our children unprepared to really compete when the **it hits the fan in their/our lives! Remember...its about the kids and the needs of society and not the few "loud mouths" in the room who demand your ever divided admiration and attention (i.e. narcissism as a mental health issue).
Here are a few options/suggestions (I might be missing a few) to those who blindly followed others into pseudo community ethnic cleansing behavior....
1.) Don't let a group of "super cools" who are barely qualified to manager their own lives tell you how to live yours.
2.) Think beyond your social networks to find values that help define yourself.
3.) When you see wrong stand up against it because people who are willing to do wrong use your silence as a prompt for approval.
4.) Find meaning in your life beyond what you once were (whatever highschool sports greatness that was!).
5.) If your still involved in sports clubs then make it about the kids and ensure the sports program is reflective of our pro-social American values.
As with all groups of people there will be some informal internal debate (See Social Opinion Making 😲 ...and we thought we were original!) I hope my resilience should give you a hint that not all things are as they initial appear (There is always more to people so don't judge too quickly. Use evidence and not your pre-embedded false heuristic anchors). Here are some possible options for those who engaged in this pseudo-cleansing behaviors. 1.) Learn from the situation and be a better person; 2.) If you don't like minorities in your community you are free to move (Siberia might be a good place. I hear Russia welcomes people who have turned their backs on essential American values 🤷; or, 3. You can stare us down, huff and puff when were around, maybe put some swastikas' in my yard, an upside-down cross, or noose as symbols of your superiority (P.S. for the dim witted...that is not permission to do this.).
Either way...the choice is yours and so are the outcomes. Good luck with whatever you choose!
No comments:
Post a Comment