Self-esteem, on the other hand, is developed through both evaluation of one's own abilities as well as evaluation of the responses received from others. Lack of feedback and criticism is often interpreted as a negative response to the behavior. 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. Others might have unrealistic expectations about their child, thinking she or he might be the next superstar. To ensure that children gain the benefits of sports participation, however, it is important for parents and coaches to evaluate and monitor their own attitudes and behaviors so that good sportsmanship is learned.