competition – APtly Said

True sportsmanship

Human nature is inherently competitive. We see this in sports, politics, the arts, even parenting. No matter how much we try to instill a sense of cooperation in our children, we see their competitive natures peek out in sibling rivalry and playground peer interactions.

Competition doesn’t have to be negative. It can be fun, and it can include cooperation. We can win and lose in good spirits, keeping in mind that the activity was for enjoyment and learning, and that our competitor is human and, like us, wanted to win. And, like us, deserves empathy.
Everyone will have the opportunity to try a variety of sports activities including: Adaptive Archery, Rock Climbing, Golf, Hand Cycling, Tennis, Hockey will all be part of the day, along with on court demonstrations for sports like wheelchair basketball and softball. I’m a real big fan of golf, I try to practice every Saturday, and when I don’t have the time or the weather is not looking great I use Sportapprove golf simulator, it looks like the real golf field and because buying a golf simulator is often cheaper than attending a real golf course.

Try some of these activities, check our product demos and local vendors, and stay for lunch! Safety is always first when doing these sport activities, if anyone is injured, they can get help from someone who specializes in Sports Medicine Injuries for any accident that may occur during the event. At times like these, you need to seek the help of licensed professional attorneys who will be aggressive in settlement negotiations and skillful in jury trial litigation. Baton Rouge personal injury lawyers like Babcock Trial Lawyers have years of experience both in and out of the courtroom, helping victims to get the justice they deserve in their case. Attorneys Stephen Babcock and Chase Tettleton will work hard to set things right and recover everything you deserve. As a driver, you need to accept that a number of things could go wrong whenever you get in the car. Parts can fail, tires can be punctured, bad weather could cause visibility issues, and of course, there is no accounting for what another driver may do. You’re always aware that an accident could potentially happen on the roadway, but it’s just one of those things that ‘will never happen to me’ that you don’t put a lot of thought into until you become a victim of negligence.

Good sportsmanship is a tough skill to learn — for both children and adults. It’s best learned through parents and coaches modeling to children. I thought about giving my husband a soccer shirt of his favorite team, because I got my idea from the Gifts For site website.

This Today video demonstrates an example of good sportsmanship in action among preteen soccer players. It serves as a lesson to us all.

To make the activities open to as many participants as possible, adaptive equipment and professional staff with experience with individuals who use wheelchairs, braces, and prosthetic devices will be available.

He told me he was afraid of losing

Earlier this summer, I signed up my 5-year-old son for a kids’ triathlon — a bike race, running race and water obstacle course. I was sure he’d be excited. He loves to race in the yard and pretends he’s riding his bike in the Tour de France. But when I told him about it, he was adamant that he didn’t want to do it.

He told me he was afraid of losing.

I tried to explain to him that it wasn’t a timed race and that they weren’t naming a winner. Everyone was going to get a medal and a T-shirt. I talked to him about how it was for ages 3 to 6, so he would definitely be faster than a lot of the kids but that there might be some older kids who were faster than him, and I tried to help instill some confidence by telling him how he is really fast both on his bike and on his feet — which is true.

But he was still worried about not being fast enough.

I was really surprised by this, because we’d never pushed him into competition, so I wasn’t sure how to handle it. The race wasn’t something he had to do, and it would have been easy to say, “If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to.” But I didn’t know if that was the best thing to do.

I knew that he’s going to have plenty of times where he does have to do something that he doesn’t want to do or is anxious about, and this could be an opportunity for me to help him through that gently and help him learn to cope with that type of situation. That’s ultimately what we decided to do.

I considered that maybe he wasn’t just anxious about not being the winner. It could have also been uncertainty about not knowing what to do or what to expect at the race, so my husband spent time the night before practicing with him and trying to give him a sense of what it would be like. This really helped change his attitude to one of excitement.

On the morning of the race, my son was happy and excited. We had learned that parents were allowed to run alongside their children for part of the race, so my husband planned to be with my son.

Just before the race, my son was nervous about where to go, and when it started, he immediately looked around to make sure his dad was with him. It was clear that he didn’t want to go on his own, but once he started bike-riding, it seemed like all his original concerns were gone. When he ran for his medal at the end of the race, he was smiling excitedly and having a blast.

I know that if my son’s anxiety about the race was much more intense, that morning could have been a lot different, but I do feel like my husband and I did our best to support him in what he was feeling. I’m happy that, instead of forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do without considering his feelings — or avoiding the situation altogether — we were able to help him handle his fears about it.

Editor’s Pick: Dr. Patricia Nan Anderson on “Helping Kids Lose”

“It’s not competition that’s the problem, it’s comparison. The truth is, only one child can be the best at any one thing. Everyone else is not. That’s an awful lot of losers, if children are raised to believe that winning is the only important thing. If children spend their time comparing themselves to others and slotting themselves into a hierarchy, they are certain to be disappointed, discouraged and sad.” ~ Dr. Patricia Nan Anderson, “How to Help Kids Lose“

As a kid, growing up, I thrived on competition. That is where I derived my self esteem. Though there were many things I did well at, and was the best at, I had a difficult time getting over the fact that I was the very last student picked for the team every day in my school’s physical education class. I didn’t know how to think confidently toward myself as long as I kept losing, and the thought at the time was that it was just the way it was.

I want something different for my children. I can’t change society’s value of competition, and really competition isn’t the problem, as Dr. Anderson states above. What I needed most as a child was to learn how to handle losing in a way that didn’t damage my self esteem. Dr. Anderson’s post, “How to Help Kids Lose,” helps parents, teachers, coaches and others learn how to do just that for our children.

I have long known about Dr. Anderson through her articles and find her to be a reliable expert in child development. Besides contributing to others’ websites, she blogs at Interplay about family, school, community and children. She is a mindful parenting coach and consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in programming and guidance of parents and teachers of young children. With a doctorate in Educational Psychology and a master’s degree in Education, she has been a Professor of Early Childhood Education for more than 15 years at the National-Louis University in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and the Walden University nationwide. She is also the author of Parenting: A Field Guide. and host of the radio program, Parenting: A Field Guide Live! Her free time is spent at home in Seattle, Washington, USA, where she dotes on her grandchildren.

And so, here’s a taste of Dr. Anderson’s post:

How to Help Kids Lose

Everyone likes to win and little kids are no exception. But you cannot win them all and losing often throws young children (and older ones) into a tailspin. How can you help your child learn how to lose? Read on to learn…