When the adolescent student killers from Pearl, MS and Springfield, OR were interviewed, one said that he was a fan of violent fantasy video games. It was said of the other young killer that he became "enmeshed in violent television and internet sites."

Some time ago a social psychology experiment was conducted with two hundred high school students participating. One half of two hundred were put in one group and the second hundred in another group. The students were then invited to play video games. One hundred students played a war game called Mortal Combat. Scoring is achieved by ripping off the head or disemboweling the opponents. The other hundred played a game called Helicopter Rescue, where points are awarded by rescuing victims of fire, floods an other natural disasters.

The second stage of the experiment was translating the points scored into cash amounts to the students. The students were then given the opportunity, as they were leaving, to contribute from the monies won to charity and good works.

Of those hundred students who played Mortal Combat, 14% made contributions. But, for the students of the Helicopter Rescue game, 73% participated in this act of kindness and contributed to charity.

What are we therefore to make of the experiment except to say that in our games and sports facilities, it is at least as important to be cultivating non-aggressive play and acts of kindness and cooperation on the playing field as it is to foster the belligerence required in traditional sports. We need greater balance for our communities. Standard sports - Baseball, Football, Soccer, Rugby, Tennis, etc. - are all without exception power oriented, antagonistic and aggressive. Players seek to "kill" their opponents and "beat" them soundly, mercilessly, if not "to a pulp" There is far more than that to sports and play. Our communities should actively support efforts that promote cooperation.

In this connection it is useful to visit a Bankshot™ Basketball Court where players play alongside each other, not against each other and where players are so frequently moved to offer advice and encouragement to one another companionably. Even when scoring is kept, Bankshot is not necessarily competitive because essentially you play against yourself.

Non-aggressive games like Bankshot Basketball (and Bankshot Tennis) give forth a sense of community, rather than a sense of hostility and warfare. When people complete a round of Bankshot Basketball, they have spent time very close to one another in a relatively small space. They have not squared off against each other as in tennis, baseball, rugby, football, etc. Each player has been engrossed in the challenge and the skill required to achieve success by scoring points as in other sports. But at Bankshot, the feelings of friendliness and cooperation are fostered. People are drawn together by a sense of helpfulness, not attitudes of Mortal Combat. I would not be surprised if an experiment were to be conducted after two groups of players played basketball and Bankshot Basketball, that similar results would be obtained, namely the Bankshot participants would be more likely to practice random acts of kindness and reduce hostilities and aggression toward one another.

At the Bankshot court, you will find that no one is relegated to the side lines, as is the case in all traditional, fast moving, "elitist" sports. "You see people on the court you've never seen before and never see elsewhere" (Burt Hall, Director of Recreation, Rockville, MD). Because Bankshot is non-running, a level playing-field is created which allows physically challenged athletes to participate - with everyone else! -- at no disadvantage. Because Bankshot is non-aggressive, the sport is multi-generational. Because Bankshot is non-aggressive, the sport is played by al regardless of size, age or strength.

Wellington wrote that "the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton." Those "playing-fields" of Eton - preparing warriors for battle - are the furthest thing from the meaning of the word "play" as is generally understood among educators and social psychologists. Play implies non-aggression. "Play" is meant to dissipate aggression and nourish non-aggressive friendliness and amicable attitudes toward one another. Yet, the playing fields everywhere offer "war-like" sports, fields of combat, where players of the winning side, as well as the losing side were often injured and bloodied. Upon entering as upon leaving these aggressive playing fields, a taste for violence and blood thirstiness are in evidence. But humanitarian sensibilities and dispositions should be fostered by play to make a better and more peaceful world.

Now that the Twentieth century winds down, it is time for the paradigm to shift for the new century and that non-aggressive sports fields be built, at least as often as traditional aggressive sports fields, so that a playership be cultivated for amicable play. These sports would be inclusionary "Total-Mix sports based on Universal Design." And inasmuch as players participate alongside one another and not mano-a-mano against each other, the wheelchair athlete, elderly, disabled and indeed all segments of the population are able to recreate together (which is the essence of mainstreaming). As the paradigm shifts, skill, intelligence and creative thinking will become as important as speed, strength and stamina for participants in the world of recreation in the Twenty-first century.

There are numerous antagonistic and competitive sports. There are too few sports like Bankshot. The foundations for cooperative learning are established as much on the playgrounds and playing fields as in the classrooms.

Children were not tested in quite the same way after playing Bankshot and video games. But many of the children were asked their impressions and evaluation for feedback as Bankshot was developing its program. With hardly an exception the children understood that Bankshot was a game for everyone, not for the athletic elites. No child was forced to stand at the sidelines and watch because they were not chosen to play. No child had to be mortified by not being "selected" for a team. At non-aggressive sports, everybody plays. Team competition is not the driving force or core of the game. The children also knew and understood that their instinct to be gracious to one another and to coach one another on how to take the various shots along the Bankshot course - and not to be constantly competitive - was conductive to friendship. They were having a greatly enjoyable time making use of their intelligence and learning skills. At Bankshot the players understand that they are to be cooperative with one another and to help each other. They rebound for one another, retrieve and pass the ball, fraternally. They tend to instruct one another at each station's challenge. They tend to be nice to one another, not having alienated each other with intimidation, power and body contact. Children walk off the Bankshot courts arm in arm, having deepened their friendships, enjoyed each other company and having had fun at play.