Everyone likes to win. It is a fact of life that the spirit of competition plays a key role in all aspects of life, from competition between companies to competition to get into college and, of course, competition in sports.

And let's face it, winning matters. Nobody goes into a game wanting to lose. It would defeat the entire purpose of the game. If the spirit of competition were lost, nobody would bother showing up to play. We don't practice just to have the skills; we practice to test ourselves against others to see who is victorious, who is more worthy, who comes out on top in this Darwinian struggle to move up in life.

However, sadly, many people need a reality check, a stepped back view of when winning really matters. High school is when winning starts to matter enough that weaker players can be weeded out or neglected for the sake of glory for a fewer number of top players.

Unfortunately, this mentality has infected the lower levels of competition where, let's be honest, nothing material is at stake. The goal of the competition at lower levels such as rec league, Little League and middle and elementary school sports should still be to win, in order to instill a sense of pride for oneself and a desire to succeed, however, this need to win should come second to improving one's skills and having a better understanding of the game.

We need to get back to the basics. The main goal of sports at levels below high school varsity can be summed up in one word: “Fundamentals.”

Hard work and desire are fundamental when learning to do anything well, and athletes should be learning to run, pass, shoot, dribble, catch, throw, hit, pitch, steal, tackle, block, kick, set, spike, serve, swim, swing, move their feet and generally look like they have some concept of knowing how to look like they know what they're doing, before even worrying about strategy. Strategy can be learned as we go along, increasing our knowledge of the game. Where the hard work and the practice should be put in for our entire careers is in the fundamentals, the essential skills necessary to play the game to begin with.

The varsity coaches at Nevada Union all agree that they can teach anyone the plays, the strategy, but it isn't any good if their players don't have the correct skills, a good work ethic, and a desire to get better.

Jeff Dellis, former men's varsity basketball coach, says that the most productive players were the ones who had the best overall fundamentals and cared enough to put in the extra reps to improve.

John McDaniel, Lady Miners varsity basketball coach, wants the middle schools to focus more on basic skills of the game and leave off running plays until high school, so high school teams don't have to go through a long review period where basic skills must be taught again.

Dave Humphers, head varsity football coach, says that along with a good work ethic and desire to play the game, mastering the fundamentals is one of the most important parts of actually playing a sport.

None of these coaches, during tryouts, went back through Little League, rec league, club or AAU stats and records to pick players based on how everyone compared on paper. Varsity coaches look at who wants to be there, who will work to be there, and who has the most solid fundamental skills in their arsenal.

That's what should be taught at lower level sports.

John J. Sekerak II is a senior member of the Nevada Union varsity men's volleyball team.