Sports psychology is fascinating to me. I have never had formal training on the subject but have seen a lot in my time, unless you count a psychology minor from Calvin University as formal training.
What makes for a successful sports program? Is it strictly a win loss record? Is it developing and teaching young boys and girls how to deal with winning and losing? Is it letting them experience trials and teaching perseverance and overcoming obstacles?
I think success is defined differently by school, club, organization or community depending on where and what you are looking at. I think everyone can agree that the lessons that are learned from sports competition can be/should be very valuable. Learning about how to be a good winner and loser and how to rise up and overcome are incredible life lessons that kids get.
It is also possible that kids can have a negative experience too with the wrong coach. If coaches don't teach good sportsmanship and winning/losing with class, it can be a detriment to kids.
I think we can all agree that sports can and should be a great way for kids to learn life lessons, compete and burn up some energy, learn camaraderie and all the other things. I believe a successful program will teach and let the kids experience these things in a positive manner and this is one of the parts of a successful program. It is delivered by the organization or school and the athletic directors and coaches that are part of it, as well as the community that supports them.
I think a successful program has to have some element of this in its chemistry and so i consider this one part of the puzzle. if a team wins a lot, but the kids hate the coaches and the school or club and have a negative experience, I don't think I would regard it as successful. So let's consider this as one piece of the puzzle.
I think for part 2, I will need to explain my own experiences which shape my views on this subject....
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