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Parents and coaches are questioning whether participation trophies boost youth’s self-esteem, give rise to a deeper appreciation for sportsmanship, and promote more devout devotion in athletic activities. Do rewards have an impact on young athlete’s self-worth? Travis Armideo’s article “The Pros and Cons of Participation Trophies for Young Athletes” voices concern on the detriment to children’s self-esteem from sports related defeat and the child’s effort when not receiving adequate recognition. Consequently, he believes this creates a negative view of the child’s abilities. Meanwhile, Dr. Michele Borba discusses the importance of perseverance, being capable to learn from blunders, and the constructive role it can have on a child’s self-image …show more content…
in her book entitled “Parents Do Make a Difference.” Armideo contends that giving participation trophies to kids in acknowledgement of their efforts, even when defeated, is a positive boost for morale and an optimistic motivational factor.
As a renowned youth and high school ice hockey coach, Armideo declares:
For young athletes, it’s easy to lose interest in a sport if they’re not winning… Young kids don’t want to feel bad every time they step on the field, court or ice. No one does! At the very least, a trophy to display in their bedroom is a nice light at the end of the tunnel for anyone that has to endure a tough season (Armideo, para 5).
Armideo’s opinion is closely related to a self-determined type of extrinsic motivation which refers to chosen behavior that stems from an outside source; it occurs when an individual’s motivation to engage in an activity is inspired by the want the individual possesses to receive an award. These trophies can be a balm for a child’s bruised ego which aides in keeping the children’s interest from waning if not winning, as well as, an encouraging reminder of the effort put forth.
On another note, a recognized self-esteem expert, Dr. Borba suggests that even when the child is failing, making them persevere through the tough experience, is an empowering reward that is founded from within. In Dr. Borba’s book, she
states: Dark mountains do take courage to cross, but if you persist, you will make it. Your reward is knowing you did it all by yourself… The difference between successful and unsuccessful kids lies in how they view their mistakes. When a successful child makes an error, he sees the event as the problem, not himself, so he picks himself up and tries again (Borba 180-81). Dr. Borba believes, in spite of the difficulties, children come into contact with, they can reward themselves with positive self-value from the deftness to persevere in tough situations. She articulates similar notions in correlation to intrinsic motivation, pertaining to behavior that is personally or internally rewarding; it is an act of will emerging from within an individual rather than a craving for an external award. Dr. Borba proposes when a child has the ability to look at their errors, not correlating those mistakes with a negative sense of self, they become an educating situation to improve upon, which encourages a deeper appreciation for self. Whether based on physical rewards that enrich a child’s ego and their sense of achievement or an internal appreciation for self-accomplishment, clearly Armideo and Dr. Borba have different views in relation to rewards. What motivates children to persevere depends on each child as an individual. When it comes to our children’s sense of self-value, there is no clear right or wrong method of approach.
Some people may argue that if everyone gets a trophy, everyone will be happy. That might be an understandable concern, however, according to people on blog.sportssignup.com, “By acknowledging everyone with the same award we’re actually celebrating no one and even undermining the efforts of those who really deserve to be recognized.” Similarly, it makes the kids who work really hard feel like there efforts were equal or worse than the efforts of those who do not try hard and do not work hard. On the other hand, if everyone gets a trophy than winners are no longer special. Kids should play sports because they enjoy playing them, not because they want a trophy. It is like one of those arcade games at the movie theater, you keep playing until you win. Another way to say this is, sports were made because they wanted to let people have fun and try to compete, but now sports is turning into the concept of everyone is a winner. Kids and adults feel like we are ruining what sports are supposed to be. In summary, many citizens think that kids should not get trophies for participation because only kids who work hard deserve
First, it teaches young athletes you need to earn rewards. In the article “Should Young Athletes get Participation Trophies” by A. Pawlowski it states, “If everyone gets a trophy it would not teach kids to earn or strive for something.” ( Today.com Nov. 2013) In another part of this article it
Our society has shifted its beliefs in how we should treat competition in young people. The question is asked, should all kids get a participation trophy? As it may seem to be an unanswerable question, it honestly isn’t. Thought that the participation trophies may send the message that “coaches” value the kids’ efforts despite their abilities, trophies do not need to be given out. Your words mean just as much when you remind an athlete that you value them in more ways than one. Some may think trophies are a great idea because it shows that everyone’s a “winner.” However, I disagree with that idea. I believe that kids should know that they need to work their hardest in order to be rewarded and understand that not
Every kid on the football field has a trophy. Even the kids who are on the losing team. Kids’ and parents’ faces are bright with smiles, and laughter echoes throughout the field. Kids are showing off their miny trophies, each with a bronze football on them. No one is paying attention to the two feet tall, gold, first place trophy that is in the winning team’s coach’s hand. Everybody is focused on the miniature trophies. Why are these trophies so special? These are participation trophies. Every kid gets one just for participatcuing in a game. Kids started getting participation trophies in the 20th Century. They got the trophies to feel more confident about themselves. Trophies should not be given to every kid because of narcissism increase,
Handing out participation trophies does not teach kids about the real world. O’Sullivan says, “We reward them for having a parent capable of registering them for a sport.” Participation trophies are for registering and showing up the day they hand out trophies, they are not for hard
Participation trophies to an individual may lead them down a good or bad path, but it depends on how the child receives and views the trophy. The trophy can be harmful making it seem like people don’t have to work hard to accomplish anything, which can affect an individual in the future. The participation of sports is important as it can lead to better time management and teach valuable lessons, and participation trophies help children stay active in the sport. Any individual who receives participation trophies can be lead down a path of
More specifically, Abate argues that trophies will help boost the kids self-esteem. he writes, “ Self-esteem is a big part of one’s childhood. Watching a peer receive a trophy and not receiving one yourself can be degrading.” In this passage, Abate is suggesting that kids deserve something to show that their effort was worthwhile. Moreover, he argues that kids need something to show that their effort was needed to help the team whether they won or not. He writes, “Any kind of honor can make a young kid feel as if he or she meant something to the team, and that could boost the child’s self-confidence -- children today need as much of that as they can get in our society.” In this passage, Abate is suggesting that kids need trophies to boost self-esteem. In conclusion, Abate’s belief is that all children deserve to be rewarded for their work. In my view, Abate is wrong because kids don't deserve a reward for everything they have done. More specifically, I believe that giving children trophies for just playing a sport will make kids feel that they are entitled to things. For example, if a kid has always grown up receiving trophies for their participation they may believe that they deserve a spot on a competitive sports team because they have always been rewarded the same as the other
Determining whether to award participation trophies or not is a controversial issue in America today. Surprisingly, most people are in favor of not awarding participation trophies to children because of the negative outcomes. A solution that is suggested to solving the problem is to ensure both the winning and losing team a trophy. Conversely, when both teams receive a trophy this defeats the purpose of even playing the game. Children are smart enough to know if they won or lost a game, and by letting each team receive a trophy it creates confusion for children. If a child is rewarded with a plaque after a loss, this could cause confusion for a child because he or she might not understand the purpose of the plaque. Several children understand that while competing there is only one true winner, and by giving both teams awards this creates a false sense of how sports actually maneuver. As children grow old enough to play for their school’s team, they will quickly learn that only teams who win are awarded trophies. Teaching children how a sport operates at a young age could help children comprehend sports better and sooner. Children should not be given participation trophies because the winning effort should be awarded, each sport is a competition, and children deserve proper feedback.
Merryman, an author of two books pertaining to her objective somewhat promoting an ethos appeal, is against the use of participation trophies. Her objective is to rid the role these objects have in a child’s life in regards to how they might view losing. The audience she reaches out toward is any adult who is affiliated with children. To
This article responds to the idea of a “participation trophy” culture and whether or not it is healthy to give every child a trophy. Comparing the situation to grade inflation, both issues strongly rely on how both parents and children look at the intent and the reasons behind getting the rewards in the first place. Kelly Wallace’s article quotes the author, Ashley Merryman, by saying, "The idea was if we give kids trophies… if we tell them they're special, they'll sort of develop a sense of fearlessness … and actually we now have about 20 years of research that shows that's not true." Merryman also says, "That if you tell a kid they're wonderful and they believe you, then it just confirms their belief and that's not about healthy self-esteem,
A man is working at a law firm He takes a case and he losses. He never had any chance. But he celebrates none the less, he congratulates his co workers for working hard and goes out and celebrates like they won. Why? Because winning isn't everything. Trying your best is what's most important. This lesson was instilled in him at a very early age when he got a participation trophy for working hard and trying his best. Across the country the debate of whether kids should get trophies has brought up conversation.
Once youth athletes get even more trophies, youth athletes just see them as objects that take up space and collect dust. In the article, "The Great Trophy Debate: Do We Need Participation Awards?" The author states that "A trophy or a medal should be a symbol for something earned, not a token of appreciation. " Coaches need to make awards mean something more than just trying.
Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).
In almost everything we do, there is a winner and a loser, but society seems to think that giving out participation trophies is a great idea, even though it’s a flawed way of rewarding. In competitive activities, trophies are the reward for putting in the hard work into whatever you’re competing for and placing first, second, or third. The concept of “everyone gets a trophy,” whether you win or lose, is an insult for the victor... A trophy for everyone is not the best way to create a message that will help improve character development and humility. Moreover, teaching this next generation to learn how to lose is very important and is not discussed enough.
When children are starting out in sports and learning the basics, the pressure of winning isn’t so important; therefore, presenting awards at this time could be more effective. Don’t get me wrong, trophies are a great form of reward and can bring much enjoyment and reassurance, particularly in the self-esteem of a young child. They say children benefit from trophies because it boosts their self-confidence and it makes them more likely to return to sports the next season, in addition to being healthier and doing better in school. However, self-worth needs to be shown that it doesn’t come in the form of a trophy, but by our actions with our peers and strengths that may not even be sport related.