
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 29, 1992                   TAG: 9203290032
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PUT THE INTEREST OF PLAYERS FIRST

I recently attended a basketball game with a friend to watch her son play. I was shocked to see him play a total of only three minutes of a 24-minute game.

Some of the same boys played almost the entire game, while a few were left to sit on the bench and wonder why they weren't good enough to play more. I could only imagine how those boys must have felt. How discouraging and damaging to their self-esteem it was.

This was not a school sports team, where I agree competition is fine. These were 11- and 12-year-old boys who were playing on a recreational team in Roanoke County.

In this type of activity, competition is fine only after fairness to all players, regardless of ability. The most important things should be having fun, learning the skills of the game, good sportsmanship and working with a team. I do not believe that some of the coaches are putting the players' best interest first. After all, how does a player who needs improvement improve if he rarely gets to play? I am not a teacher, but I'm sure you get better results when praising a child's accomplishments rather than bringing all of his faults to everyone's attention, including teammates and spectators.

I feel each child who plays on any type of recreational team anywhere should at the very least be allowed to play a fair share of the game. It absolutely does not matter who or which team wins the game in recreational sports. Leave the real competition in the schools and in the pros.

CAROL WYATT ROANOKE

by CNB