Winning

WINNING

Although winning may be our primary goal it is the desire and effort to win that should be admired. I thought about the line from Philip Roth’s The Great American Novel “Winning is the name of the game.” Reading that made me think that winning was more important than the sport itself. If that was the case than teams and individuals with low aspirations or little expectation to win would not even compete. I would relish the chance to hit a Roger Clemens fastball or try and keep pace with Tiger Woods for a round of golf for the pure enjoyment of the sport. The notion of losing would not effect my view of competition.

I agreed with Roth’s description of how it felt to win and lose. However, the truth is there is a mindset you can take with every win and every loss. There can be positive and negative sides to both winning and losing. That is why we must also look at effort and desire when it comes to competing. Each person knows the amounts of effort and desire that they put into a competition, and if a person who comes out on the losing end of a game or an event knows that they have given the best possible effort there is no reason for that person to feel an less of themselves. Competition should bring out the best in an athlete not the fear of losing or the enjoyment of winning. As physical educators and coaches it is our job to teach our students and athletes.

It is hard to find someone that does not enjoy to win or someone that doesn’t appreciate winning. On the other hand it is also very easy to find people that hate losing. But the way in which we show our distain and agony after a lose is an issue to be accounted for. Although it may be difficult at times physical educators and coaches should