I guess what I'm saying is that while at 8yo, you might just be looking at a quirk of the developmental arc, (4-H, for example, won't PERMIT children of this age to engage in "competitive" projects at all, because they feel that it isn't entirely developmentally appropriate), it's also possible that this is simply an explanation that comes close to his inner framework, and how he feels about this particular type of competition.
I was this way from very early childhood-- and I never really grew out of it. I don't like the spotlight, I don't like feeling "no win" with respect to making SOMEONE unhappy no matter what I do (my teammates or the other team's defenders... hmmm?) and I really prefer activities where the level of the performance/play is the main point of it all. Let's ALL do extraordinary things, and the one who does the MOST extraordinary ones of all gets the big trophy, KWIM?
No, I don't, which may not surprise you. Foiling the adversary is integral to many sports. Throwing a football to someone who catches it is not hard. Completing a pass, while people are trying to sack you, to a receiver who is being closely covered, is beautiful, I think. I'm not a baseball fan, but the coordination and accuracy required for a triple play make it also beautiful, IMO. In chess, the great games and great matches (Kasparov vs. Karpov, for example) resulted from evenly matched players who were trying to destroy each other.
Competition and conflict can produce value and even beauty.
