If you have not been to a youth football, soccer or tee ball game you have missed a learning experience of the first order. Children at very young ages are competitive. I do not know if it is learned from parents or just a part of being human, but after just a few moments of play the competitive nature of children is evident. I am not sure that encouraging competitiveness in our very young children is the wisest course of action. They will, after all, be exposed to a lifetime of competitive situations beginning with their education.
Schools are very competitive in their approaches to grading and teaching.
As the child gets older, interscholastic competition in sports can become the absolute center of the child's existence. High School football in Georgia has reached almost a cult status. Schools compromise academic standards and have even been known to alter transcripts of ineligible students in order to gain a star player to gain a competitive edge. Such practices violate the most basic concept of integrity and fair play. Competition in sports has brought about the cult of the winner and the win at any cost mentality, which I believe has some very negative consequences.