Participation awards

[Ken Krause]

I have to say I am both surprised and pleased to see the members of DFP are ok with participation trophies at the rec level. Sometimes it seems like we are so hard-core in a lot of areas that a participation trophy might have seemed wimpy or pointless.

I agree at the younger rec levels it's nice for the kids to get something. They seem to enjoy it, and it gives them that positive feeling of having accomplished something. Even if it was just to stick it out until the end.

Once you get to competitive ball, trophies are earned. In fact, I think by about age 10 or 12 they should be earned even in rec league. By that point the kids understand the whole winning/losing/striving for something better, and I think participation trophies in the strictest sense of the word are meaningless. A memento of the season - a signed ball, a plaque with a team picture as Rise suggested, or something else that separates it from a trophy - makes sense.

In fact, when my 18U Castaways season was over, it had been a really special group of girls. They came together for a purpose and we had a great season. I had little Lucite mementos engraved for each girl with the team logo and her name/number on it to give them as they went into their senior years or off to college. Never really done that before, but in this case I wanted them to have a little something to take with them and I think they liked it. Had they been trophies, however, they would have all looked at me like I'd grown a second head.

 

[Eric F]

DD has gotten participation trophies in softball, basketball, soccer, gymnastics and probably others that I am forgetting about.

Those "awards" ceremonies at a pizza place or park are very fun for her. To see the joy on the face of a child as she accepts her trophy or metal is something I always enjoy. I have coached or been involved with many of these teams or activities. We put the girls through 6-8 weeks of practices, games or performances. EACH girl HAS grown in some way from week one to week eight. I say they have earned the trophy. The look of joy is remembering all the work, and experiences they had and validates their effort.

I would rather have more encouragement for kids to continue sports, rather than less, but I can see how competitive and rec teams are two different animals for this.

Yep. With some kids, participation is a big deal - being part of a team, learning new skills, etc. Rec ball is the place for that stuff. Keeping it fun and rewarding is important. Building a player's self-confidence and self-esteem are high priorities.

At the all-star and TB level, winning becomes a much larger part of the equation.

 

[Indiana]

In my experience in various sports, the coaches have a pre-determined requirement for an athlete to letter. My son is on a tennis team, and the coach is liberal and all you have to do is compete in one varsity match to letter. The wrestling team at our school is determined by meeting a certain level of team points at the varsity level. Im surprised that 6 games wouldnt be enough to letter, thats crappy.

Also maybe another backstory here, but mabye it's not a coincidence that your DD got injured because she pitched every inning. Did the coach overwork her and contribute to the injury.

I was pretty disappointed for DD at the time; especially since it happened at the banquet. DD is better now and back to pitching for her final high school season (fall here) so I guess it's all just water under the bridge. There are requirements for a certain number of game appearances; it's possible that DD didn't meet the number of appearances. Usually the coach can apply some discretion, though, in choosing who to award letters to.

Coach Pete - I believe it is a CHSAA rule that if a team makes State everyone on the high school roster gets letters? I which case your daughter should have received a letter. My DD should have received All-Academic each year, but her freshman year coach never put in for it - I think this is a pretty common occurrence of high school coaches not putting in for awards.

Anyway sorry to have semi-hijacked this thread. On the pure participation side, my son received very nice trophies for participation for youth football. Everyone in the league gets them. They're nice enough as to be keepsakes; by son (15 now and playing HS football) still keeps his (although this could be because he hasn't cleaned out his room since he was 10 - ha ha)

 

[quandofloo]

My philosophy on participation trophies has always been that for the younger ages of rec league, 10U and below, then they are an absolute necessity. Anyone that tells you they can look at every kid that plays sports at the 10U level and determine if they are going to be a future star is a straight out liar. My role as a coach of a 10U rec league team is not to mold them into super stars or to nurture their competitive nature and make them into a winning machine. My role is to nurture their love for whatever game we are playing and to teach them the fundamentals so that they can develop into an athletic young adolescent that can then be molded into whatever they desire to become when they are old enough to make that decision. I tell all of my parents at the beginning of younger rec seasons that if every girl on my team learns just a little more about the game of softball and leaves my team with the burning desire to come back and play again next season then I have been successful as a coach. At that age, participation trophies are a part of that. It makes the kids smile and rewards them for giving effort. I always accompany mine with a card that I have printed of a picture of me and the player on the outside and a particular quote on the inside, usually 1 Peter 3:3-4 "It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God." Then I write a personal note to each one about what they did during the season that I am proud of.

For my travel basketball teams, we don't do participation trophies. That season spans Christmas, so I usually give them a small Christmas gift. A little string bag one year, ear warmer headbands with our team logo and their numbers one year, things like that. But they understand that the expectation is different. We are not playing to participate. We are playing to win tournaments and the participation trophy is the uniform that they get to wear that nobody else does. I tell them that there are only 8-10 girls that get to wear that particular uniform in the whole world so they should be proud to wear it and understand that there is a responsibility to work hard to justify it.