A friend of the program recently gave us a book from the Berenstain Bears series called The Berenstain Bears Play a Good Game. The book tells the story of Brother and Sister Bear’s experience playing soccer against the “bullies of Bear County,” the Steamrollers. Papa Bear, who coaches his children’s team, reassures his players that “its not whether you win or lose that counts, but how you play the game!” The opposing coach, Two-Ton Grizzly, tells his team that “it isn’t how you play the game that counts, but whether you win or lose!”The book covers almost all the issues in youth sports today:
· Overemphasis on winning (in the wrong way)
· The challenges of playing fair against a cheating team
· The challenges of parents coaching their children
· Rowdy parent and grandparents in the stands
· Bad calls by the referees (and angry coaches)
· Coaches yelling at coaches! Spectators yelling at spectators!
How did they resolve the conflicts? Who won the game? You’ll have to find out for yourself! It is a great little book for young kids ages 4-7. It even has discussion questions that you can talk about with your children and activities to get out and do!
