Winning At All Costs … Is Costly

Doug Glanville has always been well spoken. The former Major League Baseball player graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and had a successful career with the Cubs, Phillies, and Rangers. Recently, he joined ESPN as a baseball analyst.

Glanville also works as a researcher for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The organization released a recent report regarding Sport’s Role in Society. Doug and his other researchers surveyed 8,000+ adults and 2,000+ children in order to draw some key conclusions.

In a recent blog post on TIME’s website, Doug summarized the report’s key finding – an unhealthy obsession with winning. While participation numbers are encouraging, the fun seems to be taken out of sports too early – leading to participation declines.

In your youth sports experience, do you place greater emphasis on fun or winning? Does it differ by the child’s age? Are there other factors involved? Let us know!