Sports: Way to Figure Out Relationships

So the boy wanted to play racquetball with me, so we went to one of the local rec centers and got a court. Now, before I go further, let me mention a few things:
a.) I haven't played racquetball in years.
b.) When I *did* play, it was never competitively (that is, never officially played by any rules).
c.) Brandon knows his shit.
d.) We're both competitive people.

Now, knowing that, you can guess how it went. It was good in that we both worked up quite a sweat, but bad in pretty much every other way, shape and form. He wanted me to have fun, but when he wants a competitive game and I, for lack of a better word, suck, such a thing is hard. That, coupled with errant shots that seemed aimed at my head, got me to thinking it would be easier if I just imagined him as some random stranger.

Brandon, on the other hand, since he actually knows how to play racquetball, started getting down on himself for missing shots - that is, getting angry. Given that I was a bit frustrated, I thought he was angry at ME ... and we were both pissed that these two random kids were sitting at our court's window just watching us.

Needless to say, by the end of it, we were barely talking to each other.

Now. That's not good ... mostly. However, it was good in that we realized that if we're ever going to compete with each other (in say, darts, bowling, pool, mini-golf, etc.), we need to lay ground rules (that is, no getting pissed at thyself! once thy gets to that point, it's no longer fun). Since we are competitive people and didn't decide immediately after this to "only have FUN as the goal," this probably could have ultimately meant DOOOOOM later on.

Therefore, sports are great ... and two competitive people CAN get along with each other. It just takes a fierce game of [something] combined with bumps and bruises to make them learn.