Before we get into any details, let's look at how to define "House League" sports:
House league should be a fun place where kids learn a sport; where both winning and losing are acceptable; where sportsmanship and fair play are paramount; where teamwork is encouraged; where skill development is age and ability appropriate; and above all, it should be FUN for Kids! Kids should want to come back and participate.
Let's also look at what is not consider to be "House League" sports:
House league should never be a place where competition and winning are promoted over all else; where playing time is associated with effort during games and practice; where goals/points for and against decide anything - if it's results-oriented, it's considered "Representative" or "Competitive" or "All Star" or "Travel" team.
Over the next few articles, I'll weigh in with my interpretation and supporting rationale for each of the above points.
Hey Will, I agree with the definitions to an extent. Just because a sport is house league, obviously I'll use hockey as my example, it doesn't mean that you need to completely take the competition out of it. It's still a valuable life skill for someone to develop a sense of competition. It doesn't need to be a cut throat sense, or in any way shift the priority of having fun, developing skill sets, etc, I just think competition can supplement all the other aspects of house league if its approached in the correct way. Just my two sense.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Brent. I think when you read the entire series, you`ll see I still advocate for competition. What I find is there are too many people focused on the Win at all Costs approach, which is ruining the experience for others in House League.
ReplyDeleteStick with me and keep commenting, I appreciate the input.
I definitely agree with that, way to many people are putting winning and pushing kids way to hard when it's just not appropriate. Prime example, I was watching a peewee hockey game, and listened to the parents for about 10 minutes and it was incredible, hearing them yelling at their kids, at the refs, the coaches, it was a mess. I'm shocked that any of those kids want to go to the rink and will want to pursue hockey as a lifelong sport. Dont' worry I see where you're thoughts are on it and definitely agree. I like this idea for a blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Now you know why I learned to be a better coach so I don't have to sit with the parents!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy this little journey.