Spring is a busy time for youth sports. The end of the season marks the end of another school year through games. Tournaments are meant to make teams play better and stronger.
Winning the tournament feels great with a trophy in hand. The winning team has beaten all the opponents and climbed up to the top. It’s an important status for kids and family to feel good about playing.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Games are opportunities to learn from each other, build team collaboration, and make friends along the way. It’s nice to have a trophy. But learning to play better, support each other with the right kind of peer pressure, and more importantly learn about oneself make the games worth playing.
There is playing for the love of the game, and there is for the trophy.