Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Rethinking youth sports
I found my way to this article - Parks & Recreation: Rethinking youth sports - cooperative games - Research Update, authored by Georgianna Ramsey and Bryan Rank, and published in 1997.
"The movement from competitive games to cooperative games can be beneficial for many reasons. Cooperative games can increase self-esteem, decrease aggressive behaviors, and enhance positive socialization. There have been efforts to study the effects of cooperative games on young children (Chambers & Abrami, 1991; Milton, Cleveland, Bennett-Gates, 1995). One such study evaluated the effects of competitive and cooperative games on aggressive and cooperative behaviors in young children (Bay-Hintz, Peterson & Quiltich, 1994). To evaluate the differences in behavior between competitive and cooperative games, the participants played both types of games, during which behaviors were recorded. The results revealed that during cooperative games, cooperative behaviors increased and aggression decreased. Conversely, competitive games were accompanied and followed by a decrease in cooperative behaviors and an increase in aggression (Bay-Hintz et al). It appears how we play can influence how we behave."
Though I haven't found any webpages documenting how these findings have been put into practice, my guess is that a lot of people like myself are also very busy rethinking youth sports. And me, well I seem to think that the issue is really not between competitive and cooperative games, but rather the community, the playground culture within which these games take place. Like Brian-Sutton Smith, I think a lot of deeply healing fun goes on even in rough-and-tumble play. It's wonderful that people have found that aggression decreases in cooperative games. It's not the games, Horatio, but in the play wherein we catch the consciousness of the players.
"The movement from competitive games to cooperative games can be beneficial for many reasons. Cooperative games can increase self-esteem, decrease aggressive behaviors, and enhance positive socialization. There have been efforts to study the effects of cooperative games on young children (Chambers & Abrami, 1991; Milton, Cleveland, Bennett-Gates, 1995). One such study evaluated the effects of competitive and cooperative games on aggressive and cooperative behaviors in young children (Bay-Hintz, Peterson & Quiltich, 1994). To evaluate the differences in behavior between competitive and cooperative games, the participants played both types of games, during which behaviors were recorded. The results revealed that during cooperative games, cooperative behaviors increased and aggression decreased. Conversely, competitive games were accompanied and followed by a decrease in cooperative behaviors and an increase in aggression (Bay-Hintz et al). It appears how we play can influence how we behave."
Though I haven't found any webpages documenting how these findings have been put into practice, my guess is that a lot of people like myself are also very busy rethinking youth sports. And me, well I seem to think that the issue is really not between competitive and cooperative games, but rather the community, the playground culture within which these games take place. Like Brian-Sutton Smith, I think a lot of deeply healing fun goes on even in rough-and-tumble play. It's wonderful that people have found that aggression decreases in cooperative games. It's not the games, Horatio, but in the play wherein we catch the consciousness of the players.
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