I have mixed feelings about this as the world's most non-athletic person. I do feel like the everybody gets a trophy thing has gone way too far, kids need to learn to handle disappointment and all that jazz. But the attitude here is a bit cavalier to me as well. What percentage of high school players really go on to play college or pro? Should high school sports just get to be a training ground for them? I feel like we "lose" a lot of our boys, in particular, in these high school years. If you aren't going to play in the game, lots of kids just stop playing and I think that's too bad. Maybe the answer is more rec leagues where everybody does get a chance to play. We don't really have those where I live unless it's an elite team. I also roll my eyes at the whole sports is a training ground for life thing. Yeah, ok, it is true to some degree, but life is life and sports are (for 99% of us) a game. They're supposed to be fun, right?
I read this and thought the author was behind a few steps. The complaint is about hyper competition in primary school. Not high school. I think its reasonable for a varsity team to be competitive. A cutthroat kindyleague? No.
I think there's something to be said for keeping high schoolers engaged and interested in a physical activity. Heck there's something to be said for keeping high schoolers engaged and interested in *any* activity that doesn't involve sexting.