Competition

My sister-in-law Tara was the only one to give a guess as to the author of my previous post.  She guessed Emerson...English Major!  Good guess but no.  Anyone close to me knows that I read A LOT of Amish fiction.  Mostly by the author Beverly Lewis.  I went out on a limb and picked up an Amish fiction book by of all things a man.  Dale Cramer is the author and the excerpt came from his novel  Paradise Valley.  I was surprised by this book on many levels.  First, that he could keep pace and keep me enthralled as easily as Bev, yeah we are on a first name basis.  That happens when you love an author so much you pre-order her novels 3 years in advance.  Second, the amount of history Dale Cramer crammed into this book.

A brief synopsis of the book.  In 1921, Ohio's new law forces Caleb Bender's family to seek sanctuary in the wilds of Mexico, where the government will not interfere with their Amish way of life or take their children from them.  The book has the usual Amish fiction spins of love, hard work, young people questioning the Ordung and their parents, and faith.  Caleb Bender's family is almost torn apart when the government tries to force Bender to send his kids the "Englisher" school.  Amish children generally only attend until the 8th grade.  One of the arguments Bender makes to the court about not sending his children to the "worldly" school is the issue of competition.  His exact argument is laid out in the previous blog.

While I certainly see the benefits of competition, or should I say healthy competition, the idea of competition today seems over the top.  A friend on facebook commented on her pre-teen daughters volleyball team receiving trophies at the end of the season.  They were the last place team... yes, I get it let's build every one's self esteem and not leave anyone out.  No, really I don't see the value of this (or the waste of money).  How about  nobody gets a trophy even the winner.  How about kids play because they love the game and the other kids on their team AND in their league.  What, be friends with your opponent?  Did she really just say that out loud?  Yup, I did.

Youth sports should be intramural. Period. Period. Period.  No travel, no fast-pitch softball at 8 years old, no try-outs.  Yup, said it out loud again. 

How about we teach our kids healthy internal competition?  Teach them to do their best, always.  And their best is not always going to be better than the day before and that's OK.  Let's teach our kids to work with others to achieve a goal.  Let's teach our kids that to BE THE BEST does not mean to be BETTER than someone else.  Because, they are already the BEST GOD had to give us.  Yes, there is room for improvement, goals, achievements, and victories, but at what cost?  Sports used to be simple and in many cities still are.  However, in places like Crofton, somebody spent a pretty penny to have portable construction lights set up at Crofton Elementary for lacrosse practices (okay maybe somebodies Dad donated them but I'm cynical).  Is lacrosse practice at the youth level that important?

But how is my kid gonna be ready for HS?  How is my kid going to get an athletic scholarship if he does not put in enough time now?  Please, don't get me started.  I'll save that for another blog.  Spend time with your kid playing catch in the yard, shooting hoops in the driveway, playing tag, riding bikes, going to the park or going for an evening walk (don't forget to bring your plastic shopping bag for the trash you pick up along the way).  It won't be long before they won't let you do these things with them, especially if you try to make them practice lacrosse in the dark.

Thoughts on educational competition to follow...