It happens on damn near every single A-319 or Boeing 717 I’ve ever been on out of or into Philadelphia. By the time they get to the end of the boarding group 3 they are telling everyone that their bags need to be checked. Thankfully I’m usually no lower than group 2 anymore, but once in a while I still have to check…

About shirlessness. You have never been to Mansfield OH. Driving from my hotel to my site, damn near every methed up dude in town was missing a shirt... among other things.

Look. It’s just my opinion, and its not going to change the way things are done. And I’m not trying to change it either. I just believe the earlier kids learn these lessons the better they will be at learning from them as they move on. So I get that they are only 6 or 7 and life holds a bunch of not winning in store…

Damn near every kid on both my boys’ soccer teams keeps a running total and shouts it out after each goal.

So its all BIG PARTICIPATION TROPHY behind all this.

I understand I’m in the minority of parents on this thing. But I responded to another person that you can have both... a champions trophy for the winners and then participation medals/trophies/certificates/whatever for everyone who played and put in their best. It’s not an either or situation. It can be both. And…

I’m pretty sure I said that the other person was correct in that it’s not as big a deal as I make it out to be. And while not helping kids develop, its not hurting either. I know my middle boy, who likes to play but isn’t as competitive as his older brother is proud of his trophies and medals. I’d never take that…

And it sure seems like you were never any good at sports and feel the need to put down anyone who is. And to your other comment, no I’m not a terrible father. I take the time to volunteer to coach all 3 of my kids teams. Both of my boys play piano as well; what does that do to your view of me? My daughter will play…

This is Deadspin, this is not the place to use Drew’ articles in a respected(?) magazine as any evidence.

It’s not teaching them any bit of competition when they lose. It teaches them that its not the end of the world. It teaches them that if they want to not lose they need to practice. The sooner a child learns these lessons the better off they’ll be.

As an assistant coach for both my boys’ teams, U6 is about when they start to understand that they are supposed to go in a certain direction and sometimes they spread out a bit and not play “beehive” soccer. My oldest’s team, U7, you can actually have one of the better kids take the ball down the side and then pass…

It started in suburban Philadelphia but is spreading up and down the East Coast. Best part about Wawa in Florida is you can buy beer at any of them. In PA you can only buy beer in like 2 or 3 and they are all in the middle of nowhere.

The only difficult thing with coaching your kids team is not telling your kid more than the other kids, or getting mad at them for the things all the other kids are doing and I’m not yelling at them. My wife said its obvious to everyone watching who my kids are because I talk to them differently.

There is no such thing as the worst little leaguer. They all suck.. Just kidding, I coached my boys’ teams the only issue is the slowness of the game causing the kids to lose focus. Even if they can’t play at all, they are not the worst.

Now that I’m older (old, whatever) I play roller hockey because it’s fun. Obviously its more fun to win, but either way I enjoy my Sunday afternoons without the wife and kids. I play hockey and then drink beer in the parking lot with the boys. That’s pure enjoyment right there.

Nothing beats Wawa. Not a fucking thing.

I assistant coached both my boys soccer teams (U7 and U6) and it’s tough to teach these kids anything other than which direction to go in. So I was on both sides of the “winning” “losing” team this season.

Not in the U6 and below soccer nor T-ball. Everyone gets the same fucking trophy or medal. And, you’re probably correct that this isn’t as big a problem as I’ve and others make it out to be, but it isn’t helping. I blame the parents (of which I am one). I don’t put down the trophies to the kids, but my wife has…

She’s gonna try again. She’s gonna head back to that gym and do her work and try to get on that fucking medal stand. Maybe she’ll make it next time, or maybe she’ll be disappointed again. All I know is that seeing her bounce back made me prouder than seeing any medal go around her neck.

Damn dude. Thank you for this post.  Now that I’ve read your article, I’m sad both for her, and for the fact that I couldn’t see how much pain she endured. And I don’t mean sad for me as in damn I missed what was an incredibly interesting character, so much as I’m sad that I was/am a person that doesn’t have the…