As he studied the impact of sport on the playing fields of England—he visited more than two dozen colleges and universities on seven separate trips—Baron Pierre de Coubertin closely observed the effects of competition on character.  Watching students off the field and on, he became convinced that sport could engender courage as it built strength in its participants.  This is among the first observations he published about the impact of school sport on the young.  It is from his article on English Education that appeared in Le Reforme Sociale in 1887. 

“Sports—to conclude our consideration of their influence on the moral order—also stimulate courage. Nothing forges souls more strongly.”