Trophies: Achieving Rewards In Sports

All across America, you see the topic of “Should children be receiving participation trophies” being brought up. The idea that all kids should get some reward for being a part of the game and helping it grow. To some, it seems like an excellent idea, but to others not as much. For example, NFL linebacker James Harrison took his children 's participation trophies and gave them back to their coaches saying "EARN a real trophy." Other parents believe that their children deserve to be praised and want them to feel good for doing something they have worked hard. So which side is correct? Should we give our kids these trophies or not?

One reason kids should not get trophies is because some kids. Some times dont play on the field. “If kids keep getting trophies then the trophies can lose their meaning.” Only the kids that actually work for trophies should receive them. “Trophies are not an effective way to motivate players.” this explains that kids need a place on the field. This shows that kids should have a place on the field and not get trophies for nothing.

A new trend across America has risen in sports. Event officials are doling out participation trophies in massive numbers. The question is, are these participation trophies negatively changing the basic American values we treasure in these children? Yes, participation trophies are shaping a new cultural norm of entitlement and it promotes a new attitude of doing nothing, yet still being rewarded for it. This trend must be put to a halt and reversed. Participation trophies are not the answer to making kids feel better about themselves.

Is giving kids participation trophies beneficial to children, or motivation killers? Many people all around the U.S. have their opinions for both sides of the discussion. James Harrison, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has weighed in on this topic. In many people’s eyes, his beliefs make a lot of sense, they understand where he’s coming from and what he is speaking about. Carol Dweck also made a statement to NPR about her belief’s on the topic. There are millions of important facts that need to be talked about with this epidemic: an estimated fifty-seven percent said “only winners” should receive a trophy for participation in kids sports, giving out participation trophies is tantamount to giving kids the wrong kind of praise, and this

That is what I think the participation trophies are doing to kids. When I was a kid my dad was always my coach during sports and if we were ever given those trophies he would tell the people that we did not want them. Maybe some kids so not understand the meaning of them but on my team we all did. “Giving everyone a trophy will not prepare them for the real world.” - Ashley Merryman, the co-author of “Nature Shock: New Thinking About Children.” I agree with her 100%. When kids do not try hard in the real world, they will most likely be fired from their job. If they are just given trophies they will not learn that sometimes they have to do more than just show up. There was an Olympic Gold Medalist say “losing was the best thing that ever happened to them, because it made them want to work harder.” Now I do not know who it was that said that but it makes complete sense.There has been some conversation about Kevin Durant just trying to find an easy way to get a trophy. In 2016, Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder and went and played for the best team in the league the Golden State Warriors. I think that is exactly what he did, he did not earn that trophy. Everyone hated what he did because the Warriors beat the Thunder the year before in the playoffs. Earning the trophy is the best feeling ever. When I was a kid when my team would not win a game, it made us want to come out the next game and try even

In the article “Dangers of an ‘everyone gets a trophy’ culture?” Ashley Merryman interviews thirty seven children to see what they think about participation trophies. One kid, Levey Friedman, said to Ashley Merryman “Well, I kind of purposely played in this esiar one because I knew I would win and now I don’t really count that as a real victory because I went in and I knew it was below my level.” In other words Levey Friedman only played on the lower level sports team to win. One year when I played soccer we only won one out of thirteen games. At the end of the year we got our trophies and awards and now every time I see the soccer trophy it just reminds me of how bad our team was and how bad we did that season. Kids know when a sport is below their level so it's dangerous to think that everyone's a

“Sending him home empty-handed at the end of a hard-fought season won’t help him learn the lesson of losing, it will teach him early that there’s no value in the attempt” (Zadrozny). Prizes such as trophies and ribbons are a controversial topic in society. Some believe that not enough are handed out to children while others believe that too many are handed out. Trophies are a symbol of victory and triumph, but do not forget that children just want to feel part of a team even though they are not good enough. Putting forth an honest effort is important, and doing well is the habit on which they will be repeatedly evaluated in life. Even though some believe trophies are not good, they give a boost of confidence while keeping children happy and

If young kids get a trophy for every year that they play a sport and don’t win, they begin to think they are entitled to get a trophy. “Everything in life should be earned”, says James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kids just need to learn that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, that is just how the world works. “They don’t let kids pass classes for just showing up”, says Kurt Warner, former NFL star. The fact is that sometimes your best just is not enough. Life will not give you a trophy for just trying (Website #2).

Participation trophies teach kids bad life lessons. They introduce the wrong idea at a young age that you can just show up and still be rewarded for minimal effort. If someone joins a sport they are expected to try their best and should be rewarded for doing so. When they are not then there is no point in even participating. Kurt Warner was quoted saying ‘ “ They don’t let kids pass classes 4 just showing up ” ‘ (Wallace). later in life people aren’t rewarded for showing up, and teaching something that is not true at such

Participation trophies only hurt kids. These trophies have been given out in many sports for decades but they do not mean much to older children. Something as simple as golden painted plastic will not keep a child playing for long after their first years. Children must also be taught how to compete early on. These trophies create a lack of competition in youth athletes and should not be given to children above the age of ten to help teach them life skills and to protect them from struggling in their future lives when they will have to compete for jobs.

This why we should not reward just because of showing up. To start, I found a very crazy piece of evidence in the article, “Do we Give Children Too Many Trophies?” by Michael Gonchar the text says. “If children always receive a trophy - regardless of effort or achievement - we’re teaching kids that losing is so terrible that we can never let it happen.” This shows that if kids loses in the future and get no trophy they could have a mental break down and quit sports entirely which can lead to a massive health disaster. For some backup on that many parents think that you must learn from your mistakes to become a humble and fun to be around person so eventually their kids will adopt this same personality and believe in that. So to make them humble and fun to be around is to not give trophies if they mess up and cost their team an important game and especially if they are not trying at all. This is a huge problem because it can ruin the future of the world. If we give the wrong message It could cause kids to quit and like what Lauren Tarshis said, “Kids who stick with team sports, exceed higher fitness levels to better grades.” So this can affect the world by giving kids bad jobs for not doing team sports, it also in extreme cases lead to the child turning into a

Participation trophies are a widely spread topic, some people argue that children do not learn valuable life lessons by receiving participation awards. Contrarily, people argue that children need participation trophies to help fuel children’s want to do better to win first or second prize. Ashley Merryman, Betty Berdan and Parker Abate wrote three separate articles discussing participation trophies. Participation Trophies need to be done away with because of all the negative consequences that children learn from receiving these trophies.

In the last couple years, society has debated if participation trophies are important in a child’s growth and development, or are they a complete waste of time. In today’s society, many children are given a participation trophy for just showing up whether they win or lose or even play. The problem in doing this is, we are giving children the idea that it doesn’t matter if you try or not, you’ll leave with a trophy at the end of the day. Giving kids the idea that they will always get something creates the idea that they will never fail. In the real world they will fail and why not prepare the kids for this experience gradually while they are growing up? Kids need to know that in order to better themselves in work, school, or sports; they need to work hard, try harder, and never give up. There will always be someone better than them, but you want to always strive to do better, to do your best. This topic has become a very fascinating argument in many parent groups. What people need to understand is that it isn’t necessarily the child getting the participation trophy that is the issue. It is the message we give them when we give it to them. Participation trophies have a negative effect on children and handing them out should be stopped. Children can become successful in life with or without the participation trophies being handed out.

Our young athletes get a shiny plastic pacifier every time they cry. We reward trophies to kids because their parents can drive them to multiple practices and games. Even if they never win or are the worst on the team, they are rewarded. Due to all of this, there is no reason to try to do better and they stop trying. Participation trophies are detrimental to children because they cost the coaches and parents a lot of money, make children forget how to accept loss, and we kill the drive for the players.

Next, children need to know that losing is a part of and can’t be avoided. Although, some people may say that kids are gaining self confidence and that participation awards are good for kids, but they are not. Don’t you think that kids would be happier to work hard and get a real trophy instead of being given a consolation prize? By doing that kids will develop a better work ethic which will lead them towards success in life. In conclusion, I believe giving kids trophies makes them weak, but having them earn it makes them strong.