Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Our readersMarch 08, 2019
Flickr

When asked if sports build character, 75 percent of respondents said yes and 25 percent said no.

“I have coached high school athletes for 52 years,” said Thomas Sexton of Philadelphia, Pa. “I see them learn and grow in so many ways.”

Dozens of respondents expressed similar views, noting that many people participate in sports during adolescence, a critical period of growth and development.

Asked what about sports helps to build character, readers pointed to a number of aspects. Thirty-nine percent said athletes learn about teamwork; 33 percent said athletes learn to deal with failure; and 23 percent said sports do not teach character. Five percent said athletes learn social skills.

“Athletes learn about sacrificing for a greater goal,” wrote Kevin Pulliam of South Bend, Ind.

“Athletes learn about sacrificing for a greater goal,” wrote Kevin Pulliam of South Bend, Ind.

Dissenters pointed to the competitive spirit intrinsic to sports. “Sports build character no more than any other program that requires us to make a commitment and strive to improve ourselves,” said Sue Sack of Dayton, Ohio. “All too often, it seems, they instead build a society of people who, as observers, encourage the growth of excessive competition and ego in others.”

Some readers emphasized that while sports have the potential to build character, it is not guaranteed. “Unless coaches explicitly address these concepts, neither true learning nor character building takes place,” wrote Donald Sprague of Chicago, Ill.  

More: Sports
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
mogli mogli
4 years ago

yes you are correct sir, sports will build the character .
I love to watch these games on GHDsports apk

The latest from america

If there is one thing that pro-life and pro-choice advocates can agree upon, it’s that the cost of having a baby is significant and often a deterrent for mothers carrying their child to term.
Catholic social teaching has always acknowledged a role for government regulation of the economy. The economy is to promote the common good, not benefit owners and investors alone.
The bishops urged “particular care” be taken “to protect children and adolescents, who are still maturing and who are not capable of providing informed consent” for surgical procedures or treatments such as chemical puberty blockers.
A Reflection for the Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, by Ashley McKinless
Ashley McKinlessMarch 21, 2023