Well-stated.
A goal of "excellence" is a very different thing than an environment which fosters brutality/cut-throat competition among peers in the name of "wins" instead.
Agree x 1000. And not just when it comes to sports.
So many "excellent" academic schools are not necessarily devoted to personal excellence, in that they want each student to do his/her best, but to the kind of competitive environment that can lead to some pretty unhealthy behavior.
I'm not anti-competition... not by a long shot. One of the advantages of competing in a sport like swimming is the ability compete AT YOUR LEVEL. I was never one of the best swimmers on our team, but since I practiced with people of my ability, and swam against them at meets, it didn't matter. We were able to celebrate each others' successes (winning overall first place for our fastest teammates, a personal best for middle-of-the-road swimmers like me, or very basic accomplishments like completing 100 yards butterfly without stopping for newer swimmers). I beat and was beat by teammates on a regular basis... no one took it personally that I remember. The more competitively-minded took it as incentive, those of us who were just in it for fun smiled and shrugged.
I guess I never realized how good we had it. There were "mean girls," sure, and typical pre-teen and teen drama... but they were kept pretty under control because that was just the expectation.
