Participation Trophies Don't Benefit Young Athletes

After reading the room for debate article, "Should Every Young Athlete Get a Trophy?" it made me realize that giving out participation trophies to every young athlete on the team doesn't really benefit them in the long run. Sure it may feel good to get a trophy in the moment, but after receiving them for every game it may feel pointless. Receiving these trophies at a younger age seems reasonable, but as you get older you shouldn't have these anymore. Instead, coaches should come up with a different way of recognizing players participation.

Children who receive these trophies may think that if all they do is the bare minimum and participate they will be rewarded, which is not true. These young athletes can't expect things to be handed to them in the future, especially when they go into the workforce and college. One of the debaters in this article, Betty Berdan, said that participation should be acknowledged, but instead of  a trophy it should be just a couple of encouraging words or a pat on the back. I believe that this is a much more effective way at recognizing participation. I'm curious to see what you guys think of this, so go ahead and leave a comment.

-Sonny Montalvo