Sports games across the world come with the spirit of competition; everyone wants to see their team win, and there’s a sense of pride behind it. Professional sports have massive stadium-wide crowds cheering for teams; college sports have entire campuses cheering for their teams. It only makes sense that parents who are passionate about sports would want to introduce their talented children to sports at a young age, hoping that they might eventually succeed in college sports or even turn professional. People bring that competitive spirit seen in professional sports into the little leagues. It’s their children after all; they want to see their children prosper, and the idea of someone else’s child winning against their own feels infuriating.
My brother was a little league soccer goalie, and as kids I used to watch him play a soccer game every Sunday. There were crowds of families in an uproar over the game in this small indoor stadium in the middle of the city; despite its smaller size, it felt similar to a professional sports stadium with fans cheering loudly, getting concessions, and enjoying the game.
Each coach taught the meaning of teamwork and sportsmanship, but parents were often rowdier than the little league ever expected. Parents often yelled at each other and people’s children when they saw something they didn’t like, and I saw a couple physical altercations throughout the years.
From my experience, I think these little leagues can create a detrimental sense of competition between kids and adults; there’s not only the sense of competition and pride brought from higher-level sports games, but it also involves people’s precious children. Most people can’t bear the idea of negative things happening to their children, like experiencing defeat; they only want the best.
I obviously don’t mean to get rid of little leagues, but I think parents should be more aware of others and their children’s feelings, as the competitive, loud environment can potentially traumatize them.
Everyone understands that it is a children’s game, but in the heat of the moment, the dynamics shift; it suddenly becomes focused on winning. People should work on restraining themselves and maintaining the best possible experience for their children, win or lose.
