Reply to This war on Participation Trophies is completely overblown.

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Reply to "This war on Participation Trophies is completely overblown."

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]i agree that the participation awards themselves aren't the real problem.  I'm in my early 40s and we got them back in the day.  But i knew that trophy didn't mean I was the best swimmer.  I was a pretty shitty swimmer.  But I put in the work and showed up at meets and practices, so it was recognition of that.  I was under no illusion that it meant I was the best at anything or that it really was a prize.

In certain settings, showing up and trying hard IS good enough and should be encouraged.  that should be the nature of rec leagues -- anyone can play, as long as they do the work.  For more competitive and elite leagues, that's not the case.

I feel like there are subtleties being lost in this debate and it comes down to expectations and messaging.  [/quote]

I agree.

I got a participation trophy once for a rec league activity. It was the only trophy I've ever gotten for anything. As a kid, I sucked at everything except academics and art, I knew it, and I felt bad about it.[b] I knew my trophy didn't represent a major accomplishment, but it was fun to get it.[/b] It made me feel in a small way like "the other kids"--kids who did activities, kids who [i]didn't[/i] suck at everything. So to some kids, these trophies may actually have meaning, either as acknowledgement of effort or as mementos. They won't mean much to really competitive or more skilled kids, but those kids will get other awards.
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But kids these days get them EVERY season for EVERY sport.  So if you play on MSI soccer twice a year, that is 2 trophies a year just for signing up and maybe playing a few games.  So honestly, it isn't fun to get, even for the kids who aren't athletic.  There may be a mild euphoria for your first one but around here it starts at 3yrs old when kids don't even understand it.  It is completely overblown.  I much rather have a coach tell my child two things.  Their best attribute towards the team and the one thing they can work on for next season.  It doesn't need to be in front of the team but one on one where it matters and you can be told the truth.  
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