(Sorry for getting so political.)
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder
On the other hand, some parents and coaches might think that it is worth a few bucks to make their kids smile. However, instead of spending a lot of money on them, simple a thumbs up or a good job will do just fine. Trophies lose their meaning when people don't earn them. The "Trophies for All" policy does not prepare youth athletes for the real world. According to the SCOPE article, written by Lauren Tarshis, "In life, most people are not rewarding for simply doing what's required.”…
In Vivian Diller’s article, “Do We All Deserve Gold? Setting Kids Up To Fail” and Lisa Heffernan’s article, “In defense of participation trophies: Why they really do teach the right values” both authors disagree on many different things about participation trophies. The one disagreement that drives these authors the furthest apart is kids being given trophies for just participating or giving trophies to those who only win and what the value of this holds for the kids. Lisa Heffernan states that giving “participation trophies remind young kids that they are part of something, and may help build enthusiasm to return for another season” in her article “In defense of participation trophies: Why they really do teach the right values” (In Defense).…
On the topic of participation awards, Lisa Heffernan and Vivian Diller have both published articles advocating either for, or against rewarding children at a young age, regardless if they’ve won a game or not. In terms of making a strong argument, both writers used celebrity testimonies, life experience, and quotes from reputable sources, some tactics more effective than others. In Lisa Heffernan’s article favoring participation trophies, “In Defense of Participation Trophies: Why They Really do Teach the Right Values,” she often pulls from her most powerful and relevant source to her topic- her son. Statements such as “When my son was around eight years old … he scoffed at the very idea that such an award existed.” would play a critical role in setting up a counter argument, but much like her other quotations in her article, it was followed by a statement from Hillary L. Friedman, a sociologist, that initially seems to back up her son’s opinion.…
Corey Turner remembers collecting participation trophies from the YMCA soccer program he was involved in as a young athlete. These trophies are now sitting in a dusty box somewhere in his parent's basement. This leads him to question whether or not young athletes should receive trophies for just showing up. Corey Turner is not alone, people across the nation have debated this issue for as long as youth sports have been in existence. I believe that kids should not get trophies for participating because kids should learn life lessons from both wins and losses and participation trophies do more harm than good.…
Participation trophies are bad but not because it hurts the children. Participation trophies are good and bad. They help motavate some children. The children that worl hard for the trophy feel bad that the people that dont work hard get the same trophy. Particapation trophies are…
There has been a long discussion in society on weather or not kids should receive participation trophies. The people that disagree with giving kids participation trophy's say that giving kids participation trophy's will hurt them later in life by not teaching them the values of hard work. However the people that agree with giving kids participation trophy's say that they can make kids feel good and raise there self esteem. I agree with not giving participation trophy's because the value of hard work is very important.…
In today's society, every kid that plays a sport gets a trophy for just showing up and that is not right. There is more meaning behind a trophy for a kid than what most people think. Getting a first place trophy is a better feeling than getting a participation trophy. Kids should be able to go home and celebrate their first place trophies and realize they accomplished something rather than getting a participation trophy for just being out there.…
Some people believe that spending a few dollars to see a kid smile is worth it and youth athletes should get a participation trophy until they go to middle school to play more competitive sports. Before youth athletes go to middle school, sports are just about learning fundamentals, team participation, and having fun. Receiving a participation award at the end of a season can spark interest in a particular sport. When kids get exited about playing a sport it can lead to years of enjoyment. In conclusion, there are pros and cons of getting participation trophies, but as I see it, kids should not get them at all.…
Trophy's are a encouragement to youth athletes. Youth athletes just want to play the sport and have a good time . Also it is nice to be rewarded even if u don't always succeed it always a good thing to have hope. Critics say that if youth athletes get a reward just by doing something going to make them think for everything they do they deserve a reward. They believe that giving participation reward is going to ruin there mentality .…
In The Great Trophy Debate: Do We Need Participation Awards? by John O'Sullivan it says, "The $2000-$3000 we spent every year on awards could have put dozens of kids on the field, and/or dozens of coaches through some quality coaching education. " The few thousand dollars that is spent on making the awards could be spent on better and more useful things. Youth athletes might need better uniforms or more sports equipment to train with but the funds for these things are going towards awards. In life, if you don't earn something, you probably won't be rewarded.…
There is no reason for kids to get participation trophies. Kids don’t need to get trophies for doing something they want to do. Kids do not need to get a Trophy just for participating. Kids will be the same without winning a participation trophy. Many critics will disagree with the use of participation trophies: “Rewarding accomplishment is part of the education process” (Priceman).…
Parents of youth athletes support the idea that there is nothing wrong with giving out an award for doing a good job. These parents think that by doing this it will encourage them to want to do better. They also argue that giving participation awards is worth the cost to give kids a big smile. Despite these reasons, these parents do not realize the harm these trophies can cause. In conclusion giving out participation trophies could possibly hurt the youth athletes.…
The majority of children participate In many extracurricular activities such as soccer, baseball, and dance. At the end of the season, every team has its annual awards night and where the star players would be recognized for their outstanding achievements. Everyone else on the team receives the “glad you tried but you aren 't good enough” trophy. Many children, including myself, fall into this category. As naive little children, many kids do not understand that this is the situation.…
In many youth sports, participation trophies are given to every child. Basically if the kid shows up they get a trophy even if they do nothing and put no effort into playing their game. In today’s society people give children too many trophies. When a child is given too many trophies when they do not actually earn it, it can actually lower their motivation and shield them from the realities of life. When a kid is given the same trophy as everyone else it lowers their motivation.…
If everybody gets a trophy it can take away the pride of having a trophy. Rewarding every effort with trophies does not prepare children for adult life. In order to receive a trophy, an athlete should prepare and perform above average at an event or at the end of a season. When athletes receive awards for simply showing up at practice and participating in games it sends the wrong message that kids don’t have to try their best to receive a trophy.…