Lack of feedback and criticism is often interpreted as a negative response to the behavior. Because children often use social comparison as a way of determining their ability in sport, participation in youth sports activities provides children with many opportunities to determine their ability compared with others on their team. Unfortunately, given the influence of other factors such as maturation and previous knowledge of a sport on one's ability to perform a sport skill, children often reach incorrect conclusions about their abilities. Thus, the role of parents and coaches is significant in helping children interpret their strengths and weaknesses in a sport. Most younger children do not understand fully what is meant by sportsmanship.
Children often have a hard time understanding the concepts of competition, winning, and losing.
This is understandable when you consider that children see all of the attention and rewards thrown toward winners while losers do not receive such focus. Adults can understand that it is O.K. to lose and that what is important is to do your best and strive to improve your own abilities. Despite adults' ability to understand the complexities of sportsmanship, some fail to display good sportsmanship for a variety of reasons. Some parents and adults get wrapped up in the competition because they are living vicariously through their children. Others might have unrealistic expectations about their child, thinking she or he might be the next superstar.