Here's why it's important for children to participate in team sports:

[Lefty48197]

Athletic competition teaches us how to win, and it teaches us how to lose.
Both are extremely important life lessons.

Sports teach us how to win through hard work. Through practice. Through individual effort, through experience, and through teamwork.

Athletic competition also teaches us how to lose.
It teaches us how to lose gracefully, like ladies and gentlemen, with the pride of knowing that we have competed fairly and honorably. Knowing that we have not cheated. Knowing that we have worked hard, and that we have done the best that we could.

[tk2kewl]

1. well... that used to be why anyway

not to mention team sports teaching kids to work in a group, be able to lead, set examples for others, follow instruction and learn from example

unfortunately, it seems a lot of the time kids sports is looking more and more like our shit society. win at any cost, destroy anyone who gets in your way

[redqueen]

2. Or not...

Losing in a spelling bee teaches the same thing, and working on a team project does the teamwork skill buidling.

[LisaM]

3. Last I checked, spelling wasn't done in teams!

And those kids in the national spelling bee are scary. (Not that I disagree that competition is available on other arenas than the playing field.)

I wonder if having kids play without scores and winners when they are little (e.g., t-ball, soccer) actually ends up being counter-productive, since they don't learn about defeat at an early age.

I loved the old NCAA bowl system because it allowed for lots of teams to finish the season feeling like winners. The way it is now, they are setting it up to have every school but one feel like a loser. Much nicer and more fun the old way.

[redqueen]

5. That's why I mentioned team projects for the teambuilding skills.

I love sports but I think it has NO place in education.

Too much opportunity to teach the smart kids that it's only the jocks that matter.

[tx_dem41]

4. I thought it was so that parents could relive never-happened glories...

through their kids!