Are there positive aspects of Youth Sports???

TwitterMoms just put out a post asking us if "As a parent, how do you encourage and reinforce the positive aspects of youth sports?" This question is being sponsored by Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports. I'm a mom of 3 girls. The twins started playing soccer when they were 3 and 4 years old. It was a non competitive team. The goal (so to speak) was to learn to play the game. To my husband and I that was what was important to us. Not seeing who you could score more against but to really learn to be a team player. They played soccer on and off in elementary school. When they said "we don't want to play anymore" and the season was over then we let them be done. As their parent I knew if their heart was not in it then they would not do their best. That is what we ask them to do in everything they try.... "Do your best."


Our youngest has finally settled into TaeKwonDo. She is also very non competitive. TKD has allowed her to get exercise, work with others, develop a skill and take responsibility for her learning. She has to "do her best" and she wants to do her best.

We started homeschooling 3 years ago. During these past few years of not being in the school system we have found that we have more flexibility in choosing sports and activities for them that offer more than the hard core competitive drive. They have been taught to learn the sport that they are playing. They have been exposed to numerous sports. When they want to try something new then we try it. So hula hooping, bowling, tennis, golfing, soccer, swimming,etc As with everything they do we want them to "Do your best".

Twitter moms and ResponsibleSports is running this contest. They want you to blog about "Are their positive aspects of Youth Sports?" The contest officially ends July 7. All participating bloggers will be contacted by a representative from Liberty Mutual the week of July 13.

Prizes:
• 20 bloggers to post about positive aspects of youth sports and include a link to ResponsibleSports.com will be randomly selected to receive a $15 pre-paid AMEX gift card
• The blogger with the most comments will receive a $50 gift card
• The blogger who generates the most Twitter discussion using the hashtag #responsiblesports will receive a $100 gift card (Twitter discussion is defined as tweeting questions, comments, thoughts on the topic of positive aspects of youth sports).

About the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program:
Created by Liberty Mutual in partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey and the Amateur Softball Association, the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program provides resources for parents and coaches at www.responsiblesports.com to help children reap the full benefits of playing a team sport. The online community incorporates blogs, videos, and best practices on youth sports topics that provide practical, real-world advice. Parents and coaches also can complete coursework on positive sports mentoring that offers best practices for handling challenging sports scenarios.