[BluegrassBuckeye]

I believe that teaching fundamentals and sportsmanship is top priority through elementary school. Once a kid gets in to middle school a lot of the "not so gifted athletes" have found other pursuits and it's time to start letting the cream rise to the top. Winning becomes more important (that's why we have scoreboards). All of the kids should still have an opportunity to perform though. By high school, winning is the priority and by that time, if kids were taught well in elementary and middle school, the sportsmanship is automatic. Playing time is earned in practice.