Participation Trophies: Good or Bad?
Erin Honke
3071228
Narrative Assignment
RHET-1105 (3)-140)
Instr. Ryan Clement
Oct.2, 2020
In today’s youth sports culture, giving away trophies to child athletes for simply participating in a
sport has caused much controversy. Everyone can usually agree that a successful winner deserves to
receive a trophy, but what about those children who lost. Do we give children too many trophies, or are
these awards an effective way to raise children’s self-esteem and keep them motivated to do better?
For those against participation trophies, it is not the plastic trophy itself that they believe is
harming children, but the message being given to a child when they receive it. A message that says it
doesn’t matter if you work hard or not, you will leave with a trophy at the end of the day either way.
This allows them to feel like it is okay to underachieve instead of encouraging them to strive to be their
best. Therefore, participation trophies are detrimental to children’s motivation to improve and to
character qualities such as determination, and perseverance. This is supported with a quote from
Colleen that states “Social critics provide reasonable arguments that giving participation trophies to
young athletes will teach them that everyone deserves the same token of achievement, no matter how
well they performed. Following this line of reasoning, this sentiment may lead to unreasonable
expectations in school, careers, and the rest of adulthood.” (Colleen, 2018) In the office, they may still
believe that attendance and bare minimum effort is all it takes to get the promotion they want.
Therefore children who are drowned in awards and raised this way, will be at a real disadvantage as an
adult.
How children are taught to handle rejection and failure at a young age will affect how they deal
with it as adults. Children need to learn that to better themselves in work, school, or sports; they need
to work hard, and never give up in the face of defeat. Giving kids the idea that they will always get
something creates the illusional idea that they will never fail and that is not how the real world works.
1
These kids are missing out on the opportunity to experience failure, and learn from it the valuable
lessons that sports are intended to teach you, such as not giving up after one experience of defeat.
Some parents wish to shield their children from pain or failure for as long as they can. However in life
you are going to lose many times, and children need to learn that as early as possible in order to be
prepared for the adult world. When children make mistakes, a coach’s job is to help them overcome
their setbacks, and see that slow progress achieved over time is more important than a singular win or
loss. Failure does not need to be a negative thing but can instead be used as a learning experience.
Another commonly listed reason behind giving out participation trophies is that many people
believe they provide motivation to continue striving for future success. However research has shown
that it can often have the opposite effect and instead cause them to put in less effort towards their
goals. Ashley Merryman identifies that “Awards can be powerful motivators, but nonstop recognition
does not inspire children to succeed. Instead, it can cause them to underachieve.” (Merryman, 2013)
Participation trophies more often have a negative effect on children’s motivation then a positive one.
On the other hand developing self-esteem is an important part of one’s childhood. Some argue
being gifted a trophy, medal, or ribbon can make a child feel important and like part of a team therefore
boosting their self-confidence. Today’s youth experience high levels of anxiety, depression, and bullying
and could use as much self-confidence as they can get to combat these issues. Watching a peer receive a
trophy and not receiving one yourself can also be a challenging emotion for a young child. However
when looking at the bigger picture, although it may be a hard lesson to learn that we don't excel at
every single thing we attempt in life, it is something children will need to learn in order to be successful
adults. Raising their child into a successful and competent adult is most parent’s ultimate goal, therefore
the benefits of allowing children to fail outweigh the cons.
2
Participation rewards have been shown to affect motivation levels and performance in children, as well
as affecting their reasons behind wanting to perform well. (Level 320) While discussing ribbons which
are a similar form of participation reward Levey states that “The ribbon and the acquisition of more
ribbons, in many cases, seems to be more important than the actual experience.” (Levey 325) As well as
“For some kids the competition can become extrinsically motivated and focused on all these types of
prizes and rewards, rather than on the intrinsic process of learning and competing to improve oneself.”
(Levey 320) Lepper and Greene also explain that the use of excessive rewards can turn “play” into
“work”. (Greene & Lepper, p.1141) These are all excellent quotes that highlight the fact that the focus
on trophies and rewards is often over emphasized and can take away from the other important aspects
of sport. For some children the sole purpose of the sport can become only about the reward instead of
being for internal reasons like values, teamwork, and friendship.
Affection has been proven to lead to a high self-esteem in children whereas parental
overvaluation leads to narcissism. As already discussed, participation trophies are a form of overpraising and research has determined a link between this and the narcissism trait. “Narcissistic
individuals feel superior to others, fantasize about personal successes, and believe they deserve special
treatment” (Eddie 3662) A study published in the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences looked at 565 children ages 7 to 12, as this is the time period when narcissistic traits typically
emerge. The researchers asked their parents questions about when and how they praised their children.
The results of the study showed that over praising children for everything they do, even losing a sports
game, leads to the development of characteristics such as narcissism and entitlement. “Narcissism was
predicted by parental overvaluation…Thus children seem to acquire narcissism in part by internalizing
their parents inflated views of them.” (Eddie 3660) These characteristics have been increasing among
3
today’s youth and contribute to issues such as aggression and violence. (Eddie 3660) The study’s findings
also identified parental interventions which can help to prevent narcissistic development. The goal is for
children to be confident in themselves and have a high level of self-esteem without crossing the line and
becoming narcissistic. This study states that high self-esteem in children can be created by displaying
parental warmth which occurs when parents express affection and appreciation to their child. However
ensure to give it in regular amounts, without putting the child on a pedestal. (Eddie 3661)
The value of hard earned trophies has diminished with the widespread use of participation
awards diminishes the importance of competition. Many people believe the joy of competition is one of
the best parts of sport and one of the reason kids enjoy being on a sports team. Where as other studies
have suggested that competition plays a less pertinent role in keeping kids in sports. McMillian and Todd
Mancillas (1991) found that only 7.6% percent of the teen athletes surveyed, indicated they participated
in their sport because “he/she enjoys competition, challenges, and desires to win awards.” There are
many other potential sources of meaning children can get from sports other than rewards. One way that
meaning arises in sport is through its ability to teach us about ourselves. Which “adds unique value to
sport, allowing athletes to enhance their self-identity and enrich personal meaning.” I believe these are
the aspects of sport that should be emphasized, rather than winning. (Colleen 109118)
Participation in sport is declining. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (2014),
in 2008 48% of kids played team sports on a regular basis, however in 2013 that number were down to
only 40%. Studies of youth sports participation and dropout rates in other countries show similar results
as well (Carlman, et al. 26). To have fun has been identified as the primary reason children participate on
sports teams. According to a study by Kelley and Carchia (2013), 38% of girls and 39% of boys suggest
that lack of fun is the biggest reason for dropping out of sports. Therefore suggestions for minimizing
4
drop-outs and increasing youth involvement include changing the focus of sports goals from winning
towards having fun. (Bengoechea et al. 207). A reduction in the number of trophies handed out will
reduce the constant focus on rewards and winning and hopefully encourage future participation. Lastly
the thousands of dollars spent on these trophies are not the best use of organizational funds, for these
dollars could be spent on things like scholarships, upgrading your sports arena or coaching clinics.
There are many different aspects and ways one could look at this issue. While several were addressed in
this article others still remain for such a broad and controversial issue. With that being said, I still believe
that children should not receive participation trophies for the many reasons listed above.
5
Works Cited
Carlman, P., Wagnsson, S., & Patriksson, G. (2013). “Causes and consequences of dropping out from
organized youth sports.” Swedish Journal of Sport Research, 1, 26–54.
Kelley, B., & Carchia, C. (2013). “Hey, data data—swing!” ESPN. Retrieved from
http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/9469252/hidden-demographics-youth-sports- espn-magazine
Lepper, M. R., & Greene, D. (1975). “Turning play into work: Effects of adult surveillance and extrinsic
rewards on children’s intrinsic motivation.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 479-486.
Witt, Peter & Dangi, Tek. (2018). “Why Children/Youth Drop Out of Sports” - Journal of Park
and Recreation Administration. 36. 191-199. 10.18666/JPRA-2018-V36-I3-8618.
Merryman, Ashley. “Losing Is Good for You.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Sept.
2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/opinion/losing-is-good-for-you.html.
Brummelman, Eddie, et al. “Origins of Narcissism in Children.” Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 112, no. 12, 2015.
McAllum, Kirstie. “Managing Imposter Syndrome among the ‘Trophy Kids’: Creating Teaching Practices
That Develop Independence in Millennial Students.” Communication Education, vol. 65, no. 3, 2016, pp.
363–365., doi:10.1080/03634523.2016.1177848.
Levey, H. “Trophies, Triumphs, and Tears: Children's Experiences with Competitive
Activities.” Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, vol. 13, 2010, pp. 319–350.
Simmons, Jake, and Russell Lowery-Hart. “To Award Trophies or Not to Award Trophies: That Is the
Question.” National Forensic Journal , 2008, pp. 1-47.
English, Colleen. “Rewarding Participation in Youth Sport: Beyond Trophies for Winning. /
Premiando
La Participación En El Deporte Para Jóvenes: Más Allá de Los Trofeos Por Ganar.” Cultura, Ciencia y
Deporte, vol. 13, no. 38, May 2018, pp.109118. EBSCOhost, direct=true&db=s3h&AN=130338891.
6