Show For building up Young You g people r l X nothing beats athletic competition Jk Lenny Bernstein The Washington Post Elizabeth Gutermann can barely remember a time when she wasn't competing She joined a club swim team at age 8 and by 13 she was practicing eight times a week Some workouts were so arduous that her coach left buckets at the end of each lane for swimmers to vomit in She enjoyed considerable success she holds three records at the Montgomery County Md neighborhood pool where I also swim but paid a high price In her early teens she often felt physically sick and mentally exhausted When she failed to live up to to her own expectations she developed a temper Even coaches were hesitant to talk to her after a bad race At 15 she gave up competitive swimming for coaching drastically reducing the demands on herself in favor of teaching others The year I traded swimming for coaching I realized it wasn't about me and I could pass on my mylove mylove mylove love for the sport to other kids recalled Gutermann now 18 and a freshman at atthe atthe atthe the University of Texas at Austin I could still enjoy the sport even though I wasn't the best anymore Had Gutermann simply matured and developed a new perspective on her lifes life's endeavor To what extent had her involvement in sports and fitness helped her grow up providing clarity about what really mattered to her If youre you're a parent you know theres there's no clear answer to such questions The important thing of course is what Gutermann learned through participation and competition by trying and failing to live up to the goals she had set for herself and by finding another path in life With schools reopening the high school sports pages soon will be dominated by the ferocity of athletic I competition by wins and losses and point totals by bythe bythe bythe the occasional abuse of the rules in hi pursuit of victory The other percent of us kids and parents alike will not see our reality reflected anywhere Our kids will chase soccer balls and footballs without a prayer of making the local paper or winning a scholarship Yet as parents have known for ages the true value value- of competitive sports and personal fitness regimens is what youngsters take with them when they leave the field And when they leave home In controlled circumstances and measured doses competition provides so much more than fun and exercise It teaches kids how far they are willing to push themselves how to win and lose with class and how to perform under pressure They encounter and cope with disappointment They meet and bond with other competitors or kids who share the same interest in ina a way that other activities cant can't match They learn the importance of teamwork They develop leadership skills And they may find that special coach who becomes a role model a mentor a lifelong friend How do you know when the track team has held a wild party in your house I asked my wife a couple of years ago How You come home Sunday morning and the place is littered with Gatorade bottles Yeah I know Some athletes drink use drugs and do all the other stupid teen-age teen things that keep us up at night But Ive I've had two children graduate from high school one a noncompetitive participant in sports the other a varsity athlete and both have fallen in with the same highly motivated respectful compassionate crowd of teammates Would that have happened if they hadn't been putting in hours of practice and competition together Id I'd like to think so But playing sports betters the odds Research has shown that involvement in competitive sports in high school is elated correlated with success ie i.e. finishing high school going to college and higher pay later on said John Bishop an associate professor of economics at Cornell University who has studied the role of extracurricular activities in schools What experts dont don't know he said is whether there is a cause- cause effect and-effect relationship between the two or whether the kids who are willing willingto to bust their butts on a ballfield are the same ones who go the extra mile in the classroom i But with most schools requiring a minimum to stay eligible for sports it doesn't really matter Bishop says To that extent good grades and athletics go hand in hand Would your child develop similar habits and skills in the orchestra on the debate team in the school play Yes said Bishop if there is competition for positions and the activity demands the same kind of practice organization and leadership But sports are probably more ingrained in the culture of the school and athletes probably command more respect from students than he said And there is no physical fitness benefit to most other endeavors Competition is relative This summer I helped chaperone a group of athletes to San Francisco for the Maccabi Games an Olympics for Jewish Community Center teams from around the world There were some excellent athletes who could play anywhere but the level of competition was certainly below what you would find in many high schools It didn't matter For that week those kids pursued medals as if they were in Beijing last summer And team dynamics were similar One soccer coach was proud to see his year old captain unprompted step in and end the needless ribbing and isolation of one player A girl I coached who shied from relay races on the track for fear she would cause three teammates to lose wound up with a gold goldmedal goldmedal goldmedal medal when I entered her with three sprinters I was so angry when you put me in there she told me as we stood in line at the closing ceremonies But now I appreciate it What if your child simply wont won't go for competitive sports in school Opportunities abound Noncompetitive fitness regimens promote good health relieve stress and raise self One program that has formalized the on-field on off off- field link in a special way is Girls on the Run As they train for a noncompetitive fun run girls in the third through eighth grades also spend time at each practice learning about the serious issues they will soon confront nutrition drugs bullying They learn to celebrate themselves the way they are instead of longing for Madison Avenues Avenue's version of who they should be They learn about the importance of giving back to their community Started in 1996 by a North Nort C Carolina rolina mom the program has spread to thousands of sites across the country We dont don't care if you walk crawl do jumping jacks or whatever you need to do to get to the finish line said Elizabeth McGlynn executive director of of Girls on the Run of Montgomery County The basic idea is isto isto isto to teach girls about self- self esteem nutrition healthy living and you sneak the running in |