“Sports do not build character. They reveal it.”
-Heywood Broun
Around my daughter’s fifth birthday, we signed her up to play soccer, her first foray into organized sports. The focus was on fun: nobody kept score, and there were no goalies or other positions. Everyone fairly much ran around, kicking wildly at the ball. She had a blast.
Her playing reminds me of the value of youth sports. I played Pop Warner football, and although I was too small to segue into organized high school sports, the experience taught me the very things my daughter has learned from her playing, lessons she can use throughout her life, including how to do the following:
Play fair.
Be a team player.
Be a gracious loser – and learn you can’t win every time.
Be a gracious winner – and be sensitive to those who lose.
Try your best.
Listen to the coach.
Compete – because there are times in life when you must.
Reap the rewards of hard work from practice, practice, practice.
Love playing a game.
In short, A child can learn a lot from playing sports.
INSIDE PEEK: Robert Peek 
Great article, good points, very much back to the basics. It made me think of my days in the open lot on our block where we all gathered to play kick ball just for the fun of it. Our kids don’t have that luxury now. Our society is so sick now that in order for kids to have the freedom to play like we did, you have to stand guard all the time and even then it is not safe. Your article rememded me of those days of freedom and carefreeness. Now we must take action to involve our children in programs such as your daughter, so that they are not focueed on the skill but simply the fun of it all. Thanks for reminding me.
Monique
Thanks for the kind words!