Fighting favoritism in youth sports
Ever since favoritism entered the world of sports, its whole dynamics have been changed by great measures. Favoritism has a severely negative psychological effect on the athlete's mind due to which their performance also suffers. Over the years, the roots of favoritism have embedded too deeply which restrain all the players from experiencing equal opportunities.
From elementary level to a professional league, favoritism is taking away the chances of other players to shine. Fighting favoritism is of utmost importance as it is one of the major reason behind the decline in sports participation. This issue is continuously rising and everyone should take ample efforts to push back favoritism otherwise it can shatter athletes confidence.
We’ve rounded up a few ways in which one can deal with the favoritism in youth sports:
- Certain athletes are favored by their coaches which do less good and damage far more than one understands. Favoring some athletes can lower down the morale of other players which also impact their overall performance. The ideal way to deal with this is by having a conversation with the coach. While approaching him, make sure to stay polite instead of accusing him. Taking up the polite conversation approach can help you in making him understand why he should stop favoritism.
- The next best way to deal with favoritism is by not getting bothered by it. If your coach favors other athletes over you then instead of focusing on that athlete, you need to concentrate on your performance. You need to identify your strengths and should focus on improving it. You need to judge and analyze your own self instead of focusing on the favored athlete.
- Another way to deal with favoritism is by switching coaches. Not all coaches practice favoritism so if you feel like your coach is overly partial and favor some athletes then you can stop practicing with him. Favoritism can have a long-term negative impact on the athletes like low self-esteem and self-confidence issues so it is better to part ways from that coach who drains you mentally.
Favoritism in youth sports is destructive and one should fight back against it. Never do things to seek your coach’s attention as by doing so you are equally contributing to the favoritism.
Final Thoughts
Equal treatment is the right of all players in the sports world, and engaging in the practice of favoritism is the denial of that right. Every player should get equal chances to shine in the sports world. Favoritism in sports should be uprooted entirely to create a healthy and happy sports environment for all athletes.
