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Competition is necessary to build strong character in young people. Looking around playgrounds these days, you see children playing. You see two of them racing across the grass to be the first to the only empty swing. One child beats the other child there. It was a competition. But in society today, instead of the losing child accepting his loss and waiting his turn, he runs to his mommy, crying and complaining that he can't use the swing, so the winning child is considered rude and mean and possibly a bully. This is wrong. The child won fair and square.

Without competition, how are the young people and children going to learn how to loose? When a teenager merges into a young adult, they enter the workforce. They apply for jobs. Job hunting is fierce and the fierceness comes from the competition. When a position is given to one person out of 20, are the other 19 supposed to call the 1 person who got the position a bully? Are they going to go home and cry to their mommies because they didn't win? Many will go and spread rumors about the one who got the job, just to make them feel better about themselves. This stems from lack of competitive ethics as a child. They never learned how to be a good loser, because these days, EVERYONE is a winner. Society has pushed for the celebration of mediocrity so much that if a child is truly exceptional, they are considered to be arrogant and possibly a cheat. It is a society that thinks everyone deserves a medal. But then, they find it necessary to criticize the parents of the one who finished first for pushing the child to much.

I am a coach. The rules of coaching young children today have changed drastically since I was a child playing. Coaches are supposed to be positive all the time. How is a coach suppose to remain positive, when they have 4 children on the diamond (baseball, softball) who are giving 110%, and 5 others who are just there to have fun and socialize and don't put forth any effort? Plus, they are told constantly that it is just for fun by their parents. So when they over throw the first baseman, they laugh, and the runner gets an extra base. The 4, who are there to play, want to improve. They want to make the plays and give the other team a good game. Loosing a softball/baseball game by 1 or 2 runs is an amazing experience for kids, however depressing it may sound. They gave the other team a good game by putting forth their best effort. Now, they know next time they

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