The Dartmouth High School Spartans Baseball team has been on a streak for the past six seasons. But the team isn’t raking in runs and winning games, it has done the opposite. This Nova Scotia team has lost every game, and they still celebrate every time they play.

You would think after losing so much, the teens would give up lacing their cleats, putting on their jerseys, and hitting the field, reported Radio Content Pro, but these guys still love to play baseball.

The games usually don’t last that long as most of them end by the mercy rule that ends games early if one side is behind by 10 runs. In fact, 80 percent of the team’s losses end that way. But none of that matters if the team is having fun every time they take the field.

Finding Victory in Just Playing
There is a reason why playing is more important than winning or losing. According to CBC News, anyone in the school is welcome to join the team due to an open-door policy.

“Even though those large defeats [ happen every game], everyone has a blast on the team, we have a great time!”  team captain Curtis Snelgrove told CBC News. Many of the high schoolers  on the team’s roster never had the opportunity to play organized baseball, or any baseball before.

The team was coed until 2025 when the girls split off to form their own team. The girls’ team won a game in their first year, but there is no rivalry between the teams, and the boys celebrated their win even as their losing streak continued.

“It was pretty awesome to see that Spartans baseball won a game, even if it wasn’t my team,” team member Benjamin Boehner said.

This team understands that winning isn’t everything and losing is part of the game. This is an important lesson to learn.

Why Losing is Winning Too
Most coaches and parents want to see kids win when they play youth sports, according to a blog on Craig Salisbury Tennis. It is exciting to cheer from the sidelines when kids make a goal or hit a homerun, but what happens when they miss a shot or the team loses?

While you may want to shield your child from defeats, it is important for young athletes to learn how to experience acceptance and learn how to build resilience. By embracing failure as a possibility and being able to bounce back from losses goes way beyond the playing field.

Children learn from their mistakes. Losing helps them develop resilience that can prepare for the challenges youth athletes will encounter during their entire lifetimes.

The most important thing about youth sports is for them to be fun. According to a 2024 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, 70 percent  of children quit sports by age 13, often citing that they simply have stopped having fun.

This is a lesson that was learned well by the Dartmouth High School Spartans Baseball team. While there is always hope that they will face a team that plays worse than they do and their six-year streak will end, according to Radio Content Pro.. But now, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about the pure joy of playing baseball.