And those of us who played baseball all summer in the school yard ended up better players than those who just played in Little League.
Please forgive me if I call hogwash on that. There is no other way to learn how to deal with the level of humility that comes with a 108-22 thrashing, other than to go through it (not unless you had to walk around with a dog collar and leash around your neck -- and people who do that are usually into humiliation). Not losing a Student Council election, not the high school band losing the state championship, not your boyfriend or girlfriend dumping you, not your prize pig being turned down for a blue ribbon at the State Fair; none of those things compare. No, unless you've been that thoroughly defeated and humiliated -- in public -- you didn't learn that lesson.
I wouldn't change a thing, either. There was no "mercy rule" back then...you took your butt whuppin' and held your head high as you left the locker room, even though you knew every eye in the gym was watching you and your teammates. I learned from an early age that life ain't fair, and all you can do is deal with it. It seems to me that's a lesson two whole generations of Americans should have learned long ago, on some distant Little League ball field or basketball court. We might have a lot fewer 27-year old fast food workers whining about not being able to make ends meet on their Burger King wages, and how it's not "fair" that they don't make $15/hr. The Obammunist may have never been elected if there were fewer whiners, and more doers in our nation.
"What made that even better was that my friends and I played to our expectations, not the expectations of an adult who had his own agenda (even a well-intentioned one). "
As enlightened as it sounds to say you and your friends weren't playing to the agendas of adults, well, that also falls flat. Living up to the expectations of others -- your boss, your platoon sergeant, your wife/husband, your shareholders, etc. -- is something we have to do all our lives. As a kid, I learned that not living up to the expectations, and agenda, of the coach resulted in my butt riding the pine. Not living up to your platoon sergeant's agenda gets you extra duty. Not living up to your boss' agenda gets you fired. Not living up to your wife's agenda gets you divorced. We all have to meet expectations and help advance the agenda of someone, our entire lives. Learning that lesson as a kid, on the field or hardwood, is a much less expensive and painful way to learn it than any other.
Finally, saying you gave it your best is a convenient excuse to not give it your best. Give it your all, each and every day, on the field or wherever, and if you lose, don't make excuses. Instead of saying, "I did my best", say "I'll have to do better next time".
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!