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[quote=Anonymous]
I watched DS veer away from competitive sports and learned a lot from him. He discovered rock climbing, yoga, archery, and ballet---all activities where it's all about working with your own skills, not beating the other team.

He loves watching as the whole class of boys work in unison complete the ballet steps. I've seen him work to touch his toes without bending his knees. (It took forever!) He's sensitive to balance and struggles with his little scooter at the park.

He doesn't like the conflict or shit-talk of football, even though his build and strength would make him pretty valuable on any team.

He enjoys painting and puzzles. I think he's a great little kid and I applaud his decision to remove himself from competition. I have spoken to him about good sportsmanship, which I think is the central issue here. I wish coaches and leagues focused more on this than winning or star players.

I was really sad when my favorite stretch teacher at the gym left. She had done a brilliant job of creating a non-competitive atmosphere in her classes. She always gave multiple poses in yoga and pilates exercises at different levels, emphasizing the internal work and using one's own body. So, I hear where DS is coming from.

Last year, DS had a hard time with the boys in his class because they wanted to establish that they were the strongest before allowing him to play. He's the tallest, largest boy in his class by far. Most people are stunned to hear how old he is, he's really a big kid. Still, he's a gentle giant. He doesn't like how these boys needed to test their strength against him or beat him, win, in order to establish the ground rules for just playing around. I'm glad he's found good friends despite this. Not surprising that he found them outside of that group.

Like you, I also find a highly-competitive atmosphere undesirable, OP. We strive to be our best and measure ourselves against past performance, not others.

We don't like the competitive spirit, so we don't participate in that realm. I've seen how my children interact with their friends, and I am very proud of how easily they cheer on each of their buddies. There's no sense of competition to see who can be the best.
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