Trophies, Medals and Youth Sports Leagues

A classic debate in today’s youth sports leagues is the on-going issue of medals and trophies, and who “should” win.

There are two schools of thought: 1) Everyone should win one and 2) only the champions should win. Of course, this goes further into a deeper societal issue about “everyone winning” such as high school teams not naming captains, high schools getting rid of the “valedictorian” distinction, etc.

But let’s not dive into the deeper issues about what happens later in these kid’s lives. Let’s just talk about youth sports leagues.

At i9 Sports, the local youth sports league I own, we do a medium between the above mentioned options. We feel that the teams who have been a little more successful and have had a better record deserve some recognition, but all other kids deserve something for their hard work throughout the season.

So, at i9 Sports, we give the division winner trophies and everyone gets participation medals. There ends up being a distinction between the “winners” and “everyone else” but the last week of the season all the kids and families leave the field with something.

I think that it is important for teams to win and lose, but it shouldn’t be the be all, end all, in if a child has fun on a week-to-week basis in a league. We try to focus on the kids learning the sport, playing the sport and having fun, but in an environment that teaches children about winning and losing with good sportsmanship regardless of the outcome.

I’ve coached kids of all ages in various youth sports leagues like flag football and basketball. I’ve had the best team in the league and the next season the worst in the league. I’d like to think that a coaches positive attitude means the kid have a good experience regardless of their win loss record.

Kids need to learn to win and lose, but that everything shouldn’t be centralized on exclusively the end result. However, I think some distinction needs to be made to give the winners of the game or the league something a little extra. Even though kids in youth sports leagues need to learn how to win and lose, it shouldn’t determine their experience playing.

i9 Sports offers youth sports programs for kids age 3-14 in the Framingham, Marlborough and Shrewsbury area. Visit www.i9sports.com today for details on all of our programs. Mention this article and receive $15 off any fall program!