(This essay was written during my senior year of high school as an assignment for Introduction to College Writing)
Over the years, society has undergone a modern evolution which has caused the human race to become more sensitive in a competitive setting. Trophies used to represent a token of accomplishment. However, their value has diminished with the widespread usage of participation awards. Instead of inspiring the impressionable youth to become more skilled in a particular sport as trophies once did, these mementos serve as a reminder to a memory rather than a symbol of true achievement. The awards are causing the youth of the world to become lazy and undriven to push themselves to accomplish their goals. The topic of participation trophies has been heavily featured in The New York Times’ online forum, “Room for Debate.” Several individuals from different walks of life voiced their opinion on the matter. Although their usage can be beneficial in certain scenarios, participation awards are doing more harm than good by encouraging young athletes to remain idle in their skill progression.
Ashley Merryman claims in her article “Forget Trophies, Let Kids Know It’s O.K. to Lose,” that young athletes need to understand the importance of focusing on process and progress, rather than results and rewards, which convey that losing in real life is horrible. She also states that contrary to popular belief, research has proven that trophies and awards do not have positive or negative effects on one’s self-esteem. Merryman’s solution to the issue is to spend time developing children’s skills, as opposed to spending money on participation trophies.
Merryman expresses throughout her article that human beings learn the most through mistakes and failures. She displays this by referring to Gold Medal Olympians, who stated that “a previous loss was key to their championships.” By utilizing the expertise of professional athletes, Merryman is effective in demonstrating the significance of losing in a competitive setting. A loss can serve as a guide towards amelioration that can aid the youth to become not only better athletes but superior human beings as well. While some individuals view participation awards as harmful to the youth, there are those who see their usage to be beneficial to young athletes.
In the article “In Youth Sports, Participation Trophies Send a Powerful Message,” Parker Abate, the author, demonstrates that mementos represent working diligently as a team to accomplish a goal, which is the most important lesson the youth can be taught. Abate also expresses that less-talented athletes deserve to feel some form of accomplishment. Abate conveys that certificates of achievement have a profound impact on a person’s mindset and overall outlook on life. He supports this notion by stating that self-esteem is a crucial component in an individual’s childhood, and watching a peer receive an award from the sidelines can be degrading to one’s health. Abate states participation awards represent working together in unity to accomplish a goal and serve as a reminder of a memory rather than accomplishment.
Abate emits that working diligently as a team with the goal of succeeding sends a powerful message to the youth. He demonstrates this idea by stating, “Participation awards begin to instill the idea in a child’s mind that working with a unit can lead to success.” Abate displays the profound impact that participation awards have in inculcating the concept of teamwork in the youth. Abate is potent in conveying the significance of participation awards. The prizes represent more than an experience but rather as a display of teamwork in working to accomplish a goal. Abate feels that all athletes deserve to feel included by being awarded prizes that recognize participation.
On the contrary, author Betty Berdan claims in her article “Participation Trophies Send a Dangerous Message,” that trophies should only be given to the top three participants in a competitive setting, and those who perform lower than the podium should be celebrated with words rather than receiving a physical trophy. Berdan demonstrates the evolution the prizes have experienced over the years. She expresses that trophies used to only be awarded to winners, but today, they serve only as a reminder of an experience instead of a token of true achievement. Berdan also states that trophies are sending a dangerous message that conveys to the youth that every individual is a winner. She conveys that the youth will begin to expect awards to be bestowed upon them rather than working diligently to earn them.
Berdan displays throughout the article that trophies have lost their value with the incorporation of participation awards. Berdan expresses this by stating, “When awards are handed out like candy to every child who participates, they diminish in value.” Berdan signifies that trophies do not have the same merit as they have had in the past. Today, they are given to anyone that participates in a competitive setting. The awards encourage young athletes to remain stationary in their personal development instead of inspiring the youth to better themselves as trophies once did. Although she is effective in displaying the negative effects of participation awards, Berdan is inadequate in displaying the positive impact that participation prizes have had on the youth. Participation awards make lesser-skilled individuals feel included in the accomplishment of a goal as a team as opposed to the feeling of isolation trophies convey.
The correlation between the three articles is the idea that participation awards are sending a powerful message to the youth. Merryman and Berdan are successful in expressing the ineffectiveness of these mementos and the impression they are giving the youth. The duo display throughout their articles that participation prizes do not encourage growth and progression. In the past, trophies were only awarded to winners and represented a paradigm to strive towards. These ideals include being crowned first place or most valuable player. Today, they are awarded to anyone that participates in a competitive setting regardless of their performance throughout the activity. The usage of the prizes encourages athletes to feel pride in being unskilled rather than motivate the youth to improve their performance on the court. Merryman and Berdan also convey that there are no positive effects to the usage of participation awards. Other authors, such as Parker Abate, state that not receiving any sort of physical consolation after a game can be injurious to a child’s mental health even though past research has proven otherwise. Abate is also inadequate in demonstrating the impact the prizes have on individuals and encourages team progression throughout his article rather than personal skill development. His voice sounds as if he has had a detrimental experience of not receiving an award while competing in a sport. One child’s experience does not represent the youth’s outlook as a whole.
Participation should be celebrated with words rather than a physical memento. Young athletes are being given the impression that everyone is equal in life when in reality, the world revolves around the Darwinian theory of “Survival of the Fittest.” If children grow up receiving participation awards, they will develop a twisted perception of society where everyone is a winner and never push themselves to stand out amongst the crowd. The prizes are conveying that remaining stagnant in skill progression is justifiable because athletes receive an award regardless of their performance on the field. Once children become stagnant, they will begin to expect praise for everything they do regardless of how miniscule it is. The usage of participation prizes will not just affect an athlete’s performance on the field but in all aspects of life as well.
I nstead of prioritizing the inclusion of every young athlete in a competitive setting, society should focus on process and progress rather than results and rewards. The value of trophies are diminishing with the excessive usage of participation awards, which are creating a generation of underdeveloped individuals. The use of the prizes are causing the youth to become unmotivated to push themselves to achieve their goals. These mementos encourage young athletes to feel pride in their bottom tier dexterity and aid in the absence of basic skills. The impression being bestowed upon the youth today will heavily affect their perception of life and their overall work ethic in the future.