Does Sports (Golf) Teach Life Lessons?

[Patch]

All sports teach life lessons to a certain degree. I would also say that the lessons learned are probably different for the individual. Diffetent personalities will see these lessons differently. 

As far as sports go, I would say that golf is in a group of sports that allow for a one on one learning expirience, while still including the values of safety, honesty, integrity, team work, self control, and just enjoying life as one finds it.  

In addition to sports, just living one's life, creates a learning atmosphere. Again, it is up to the individual to use this learning atmosphere how they see fit. The old cliche of the glass being half full, or half empty comes to mind. 

Imho that best lessons a person can learn are common sense, honesty, and patience. Those three usually take care of everything else. 

[JonMA1]

4 hours ago, mvmac said:

 I'm not trying to pile on

No worries about this, Mike. It's just a discussion and has remained civil.

4 hours ago, mvmac said:

we might have different definitions of sports teaching life lessons.

Probably the case. 

If you're asking if sports has ever reinforced life lessons, then sure - probably. But so does my daily commute to work. 

[Marty2019]

I voted yes. 

For example, golf.  I know some will disagree with my approach to golf, but in my opinion, when you first take up golf, inevitably, you are not going to be very good, and in order to improve, you must continually examine yourself- your strengths and weaknesses as a person and an athlete.  It's a powerful learning experience. 

I also agree with the previously stated: if life teaches life lessons, and sports are a part of life, then sports can and often does teach life lessons.  That's pretty good logic. 

 

Edited November 9, 2017 by Marty2019

[jamo]

I voted yes. But sports can also teach bad lessons/habits, and aren't the only way to learn life lessons.

[saevel25]

I voted yes.

[Vinsk]

“Prepare your child for the road, not the road for your child.”

I think team sports are good way to instill the traits mentioned above. But there are times when coaches (little league for example) don’t do a very good job in teaching these traits and if a parent is not involved they may find their child going in the wrong direction.

[dennyjones]

Sports are highly recommended from medical professionals for children with ADD.    Sports help people focus on the task at hand and learn there are rules and consequences.   

Not only do sports teach life lessons but there are times when they are a lifeline.

 

[iacas]

9 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

I said winning and losing never taught me any life lessons and I stand by that.

You said "I've always been amused by folks who believe competitive sports teaches life lessons." That not only goes beyond what I just quoted, it has an attitude of superiority, like we're simple peons who need to teach our kids throughs ports because we aren't doing it as parents. You've since softened your stance, but that's what you said, but I think you'll be one of the only "no" votes in this whole thing.

Like a good golf instructor, good parents actually use all the available tools. Sports are one of those tools to teach life lessons. Natalie's been playing golf since she was three. When she was five, an autistic girl was on her kickball team. When she was six, she had to learn to deal with favoritism on her softball team when the coach's kids, who sucked, were consistently favored. The list goes on. We talked about those things with her - we didn't just say "sports will teach her" - but she learned several things in large part to sports. Sports are often a kid's first experience with teamwork. Their first experience toward "practicing" something and watching themselves get better (some kids see learning to add or the alphabet the same way, even though that too is skill development). Their first experience not being a sore winner OR a sore loser (that's why many people dislike the "everyone is a winner" approach we see too often today). The list goes on… and these are things you can learn as a very young child.

Of course you can learn life lessons outside of sports.

I learned a ton from sports that, because of who I was (I succeeded academically, I even won almost every coloring contest I entered as a kid, and I had a good Easter Egg Hunt strategy from my parents, so I did well at those…), I couldn't have easily learned elsewhere.

And Nat's already learned a lot from sports. It's had a big role in shaping who she is. I think golf is one of the best, too, because it's largely an individual sport, but you can play it as a team, too.

2 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

Sports are highly recommended from medical professionals for children with ADD.    Sports help people focus on the task at hand and learn there are rules and consequences.   

Not only do sports teach life lessons but there are times when they are a lifeline.

Bingo.

[rehmwa]

18 minutes ago, iacas said:

We talked about those things with her - we didn't just say "sports will teach her" -

Actually, that right there changed my vote to 'no'.  "Sports" didn't teach her.  but you used sports to teach her like any of us have.  Pretty much everyone here has made the same point in one way or the other.  It's just a matter how they want to interpret the verbal shorthand.  The question is in reading the question, do you assume all that goes behind it apply (yes vote).  Or the question as sports "ALONE", in a vacuum of any other leadership (no vote). 

"Sports" doesn't so much, but it's a great tool amongst many that people can use to relay those life lessons.  Which, as I noted, is pretty much what everyone here is saying.

One could have the same poll and discussion for "Does Piano Lessons Teach us about life".  And it would be just as valied.

Edited November 9, 2017 by rehmwa

[JonMA1]

I’m at work and  on my phone so I can’t quote you @iacas

Not my intention to act superior. My apologies.

I never voted on the poll.

I still think far too much emphasis is put on sports teaching children life lessons. What others think is unimportant just as what I believe shouldn’t matter to others.

With one exception I’ve posted here only when I was mentioned or quoted. If you’re only point was that many disagree with me, point taken.

[iacas]

22 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

Actually, that right there changed my vote to 'no'.  "Sports" didn't teach her.  but you used sports to teach her like any of us have.

No. There are some things that we didn't have to talk about because she learned directly from her role in sports. Talking about it afterward isn't the teaching part all the time. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not.

I learned stuff from sports that I never talked about at all with my parents. Still haven't talked about it. Sometimes the lessons can't even be put into words.

22 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

One could have the same poll and discussion for "Does Piano Lessons Teach us about life".  And it would be just as valied.

Learning to play the piano isn't the same thing. You're lacking the teamwork aspect, the competitive aspect (few kids actually "compete" at piano), etc. So no, that would not be just as valid.

21 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I still think far too much emphasis is put on sports teaching children life lessons.

I don't think you honestly have a real grasp on how much emphasis people are putting on it. I'm not relying on sports to teach my daughter 90%, 70%, or even 30% of her life lessons. But if she gets 10% of them from a lifetime (really, for her, her entire life post-age-3 like me) in sports, that's significant.

[Lihu]

25 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

Actually, that right there changed my vote to 'no'.  "Sports" didn't teach her.  but you used sports to teach her like any of us have.  Pretty much everyone here has made the same point in one way or the other.  It's just a matter how they want to interpret the verbal shorthand.  The question is in reading the question, do you assume all that goes behind it apply (yes vote).  Or the question as sports "ALONE", in a vacuum of any other leadership (no vote). 

"Sports" doesn't so much, but it's a great tool amongst many that people can use to relay those life lessons.  Which, as I noted, is pretty much what everyone here is saying.

One could have the same poll and discussion for "Does Piano Lessons Teach us about life".  And it would be just as valied.

I kind of agree with this, but still vote 'yes'. This is why. Sports themselves don't teach life lessons, they reflect life in a microcosmic world. The way you behave in this little world probably also reflects how you behave in real life. For instance, a person with a terrible personality will also likely be a terrible sportsman, but you can discover this in a smaller world without the same impact of life. This is possibly why many people say "If you want to learn something about someone, play a round of golf with him."

Sports gives you the opportunity to learn to be a better person without the bitter pill of affecting your entire life, because it gives you a safe environment to reflect upon your shortcomings if they are brought out by a win or fail.

 

1 hour ago, dennyjones said:

Sports are highly recommended from medical professionals for children with ADD.    Sports help people focus on the task at hand and learn there are rules and consequences.   

Not only do sports teach life lessons but there are times when they are a lifeline.

Great post! Some people can't express themselves through the normal channels of communications, and sports gives them a way to express themselves through physical activity. That's possibly why schools emphasize the need to PE. Our educators aren't dumb after all.

 

23 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I’m at work and  on my phone so I can’t quote you @iacas

Not my intention to act superior. My apologies.

I don't think that was your intent, but whenever someone makes a strong point it invariably sounds like it.

 

23 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I never voted on the poll.

I wondered if it was you who voted no. Now the number is 2.

 

23 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I still think far too much emphasis is put on sports teaching children life lessons.

Sports belong in schools for that very reason. They're there to teach life lessons to kids who don't philosophize in K-12. 

In general, I think sports belongs in our education system. The "school spirit" thing might get carried away too far sometimes, but in general life lessons can be taught through sports.

[JonMA1]

Fair enough Erik. 

My  only regret on this topic is that I came off as judgmental and superior. I can see that in my post now and I feel shitty about it.

To everyone - once again I’m very sorry.

[NJpatbee]

I voted "yes" and like many did not mean to imply that sports are the only source of life lessons.  I have been fly fishing for 45 years and playing golf for 25 years.  Fly Fishing taught me the value of concentration, stealth, clean water and the outdoors, and the creativity to tie trout flies to the point where I taught both fly tying and fishing.  I never came close to mastering golf but the value of practice, the ability to accept a bad shot or round and strive to make improvements, the satisfaction when I first broke 90, and the discipline to play according to the Rules of Golf and in a great outdoor environment were all great life lessons. 

Of course there are many other factors that taught life lessons but starting with little league baseball, sports have been a great teacher. 

[rehmwa]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

No. There are some things that we didn't have to talk about because she learned directly from her role in sports. Talking about it afterward isn't the teaching part all the time. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not.

I learned stuff from sports that I never talked about at all with my parents. Still haven't talked about it. Sometimes the lessons can't even be put into words.

Learning to play the piano isn't the same thing. You're lacking the teamwork aspect, the competitive aspect (few kids actually "compete" at piano), etc. So no, that would not be just as valid.

 

"talking about it" isn't really the point, you put her in an environment that did those things, and likely was a role model as well since it's such a big part of your life.  The opportunity to observe good role models in ANY endeavor is where I think the real lessons come from.

"life lessons" aren't necessarily teamwork, the arts can have competition, etc etc - putting your kid out there in any endeavor certainly teaches life lessons.  Sports is one.  so are many other things

but fine if music seems to taken as minimizing sports (not the intent, just another example of the same thine) then I'll offer these "workng on the farm teaches life lessons" "part time job teaches life lessons" "raising a pet teaches life lessons" 'having chores teaches life lessons" "playing Monopoly teaches some serious lessons...."

FWIW - I think sports is a great example of things we use to raise kids.  Though I tend to personally weigh work and responsibliity over leisure activities, they still play in the effect.  But the lessons are from examples they see, the people acting their way, etc.

For such a non-discussion, I'm enjoying seeing how people view things and how deep they are willing to go.

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

"talking about it" isn't really the point, you put her in an environment that did those things, and likely was a role model as well since it's such a big part of your life.  The opportunity to observe good role models in ANY endeavor is where I think the real lessons come from.

Nah. You're just twisting stuff to support your new position.

I can't speak to what she feels she's learned, but I can speak to my own experience. I learned a lot playing in sports, and it has nothing to do with my parents being role models, or teaching me the "real lessons." I learned the things through my own endeavors in sports.

10 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

"life lessons" aren't necessarily teamwork, the arts can have competition, etc etc - putting your kid out there in any endeavor certainly teaches life lessons.  Sports is one.  so are many other things

Then sports can teach life lessons, and you should vote yes.

And learning to work within a team to achieve a common goal isn't a life lesson? Again, it feels like you're having to twist things to support your new position.

10 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

but fine if music seems to taken as minimizing sports (not the intent, just another example of the same thine) then I'll offer these "workng on the farm teaches life lessons" "part time job teaches life lessons" "raising a pet teaches life lessons" 'having chores teaches life lessons" "playing Monopoly teaches some serious lessons...."

Yeah. Nobody's said otherwise.

I said playing piano has less opportunity to teach life lessons because there's not really competition in there.

---

I don't know what you're talking about, because seemingly, you don't know what I'm talking about.

Sports can teach you life lessons. That's all I'm saying, and it's how I voted.

[Lihu]

57 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

"playing Monopoly teaches some serious lessons...."

You mean how to "deal with" a sibling, cousin or friend who mysteriously always has enough money when he/she needs it and happens to be situated near the bank?

[rehmwa]

41 minutes ago, iacas said:

Nah. You're just twisting stuff to support your new position

I'm ok with the rest of your post except for that one.  later