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The scoreboard read 50-6 as the final seconds expired and the air horns sounded from the bleachers of the winning side. One football team punched fists in the air and began celebrating in a sea of sheer jubilation, while another squad stood wilted, clearly dejected and humiliated. I pondered the plight of the psyche of the young players who had just finished their year out at 0-10. Which young men had developed more character at the seasons end? Can youth sports even build character at all? I say it cannot.

From the high school level to the tiny tot t-ball league, parents and coaches preen, coax, and monitor young athletes like hens brooding over their young. Most coaches drive their teams aspiring to capture the all elusive championship trophy, or the nice wall plaque for their office, while parents' hopes and dreams ride on the success and achievement of their child. The irony of youth sports, is our youth are taught early on that it is not important who wins or who loses. They are told that everybody is a winner just to have played the game. In reality, winning is everything and losing is, well, losing is for losers.

What does youth sports really teach little Johnny in the end? Is character and self esteem being built or destroyed? Playing for a winning team is easy for a child and the parent. Enduring a painful 0-10 season like the team I previously described is heart wrenching for a parent, and extremely difficult for a young player to digest. I remember a football coach once telling my teammates and I that winning is contagious and losing is for losers. What he failed to mention is this- being the victor doesn't automatically crown you a better citizen, nor does it make you more successful in life. Losing can actually teach us more than winning.

Let's all face it, Americans have an unhealthy love affair with sports and winning. We have all gone overboard without a life jacket for a winner. People have become irrationally attached to team sports and its purpose in life. Although I think it is important to keep children physically fit and active in something, whether its organized sports or simply daily exercise, I do not feel sports was designed to be the architect of a child's character. A child's character is formed long before and after the game whistle blows. Parents and coaches that train up young athletes to believe that life only has a place for a winner are sending the wrong signals to a child that could be disastrous.

I don't believe character is

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