Today’s episode homes in on the essence of sportsmanship in youth athletics. Patrick leads us into poignant discussions sparked by calls and emails from our listeners about the role of competition and its formative impact on children. We dissect policies that remove scoring from the game, debate the pros and cons of participation trophies, and highlight the crucial life lessons that playing sports can impart to the young and eager minds on the field. From tales of personal growth to calls for a return to the roots of earnest competition, we confront the question: What truly defines winning for our kids?

• Robin (email) – What are your thoughts on not keeping score for youth sports? (01:07)
• Eileen - I think if the goal is to smile, it should no longer be called basketball, cause that is not what basketball is about.
• Geralynn - I have a degree in parks and rec and I agree that the youth love to keep score.
• Miles - Did you know that people at the Olympics get some recognition that they made it to the Olympics. So I think kids should get some kind of recognition.
• Hope - My son is playing for a Catholic School. I think that it is a balance that needs to happen between competition and fun.
• Mark - I think that sports is about learning how to lose because you can learn from that. I do think though that smiling is important for sports because it helps the mental battle.
• Nick - I am a T-ball coach and agree with what you are saying Patrick. (36:44)
• Maggie - What do you think about my grandson who was put on the bench because he scores too much?
• Rita - My son plays baseball and the coach pitched for the kids but when the ice-cream truck came around the kids left in the middle of the game
• Katie - I have a young boy and young girl and would like to share the differences in the way they view sports.