When it comes to sports I’ve seen children of all ages play them and as much as it’s adorable to see 3 year olds kick around a soccer ball and half of them twirling in circles and playing in the grass there was the other team that knew what they were doing and kept scoring goals.
I think that until a certain age, probably junior high or even older, they should not play competitively because what I’ve seen with my cousins, they are so confident that they will win every game and that comes with it being drilled in their heads that they have to win. I wouldn’t want that level of expectation on me at that age, and I would have so much anxiety and pressure to win, that I wouldn’t be having fun anymore playing whatever sport it was.
I wouldn’t want a child to be upset because they didn’t make a basket and get bullied and highly competitive sports such as hockey are dangerous for any child, or even adult. So if a child has a chance to get injured in a contact sport like football or hockey, they should have to be a certain age.
Sports are supposed to be fun, and when you are under the age of a high schooler, it should not be competitive, it should be playing with your friends and running around and enjoying. I remember playing pickleball in middle school and I became very full of myself because me and my partner were winning every game. It started becoming more about winning than having fun and that’s when I just started hating competitiveness of anything.
I hated when there were team captains who picked you and I got picked last every time because they knew I was not good at the game. Sports should be about winning when it gets you a chance of a scholarship and full rides to expensive colleges or universities. But before that it’s about being a team player and just learning that winning is not an expectation!
