I am a coach of a children's swim team of around 200 kids. This past year we decided to take away participation trophies. We have a lot of kids on this team. We have kids that are natural born athletes and very fast and we have kids that just picked up the sport for fun. Our range in speed is drastic and we wanted to find a way to make sure everyone felt like they were accomplishing goals. We saw kids get stuck in a rut because they were constantly finishing in 2nd or 3rd place and never getting ribbons. When you think about it, can be very sad in a childs eyes! Now before you freak out, just calm down and let me explain what our PB Awards are.

Personal Best Awards are given to an athlete when they achieve their personal best time in a swim meet. They could be in first place or last place but if they beat their personal time they will get this personalized award. Before this we were handing out participation ribbons for the athletes that came in the lower places. They were nothing special, just your ordinary participation ribbons.

We changed it to Personal Best Awards because we wanted to teach our athletes that no matter how good you are, you must set goals for yourself. We wanted our kids to feel amazing when they realized that they beat their own goal. You don't have to finish first to feel great about your race. Newsflash, although winning does feel great, it isn't every thing.There is no better feeling than having one of my swimmers run up to me with the biggest smile on their face knowing that they got a personal best time.

The parent feedback has been amazing. Personal Best Ribbons get a special spot on the refrigerator. Parents can teach their kids to get excited about these ribbons because they represent so much more than a participation award. The child worked toward a goal and then achieved it. Not only do this awards motivate the kids, but it motivates the parents. There will always be parents that want their kid to get a participation award and to get recognition. Well, in this case the parents can work with their child to achieve a Personal Best Award. They can take them down to the pool for some extra laps, they can set up a tee in the backyard. Parents can get involved and get motivated for their children's success.

If you're a coach or a parent of a athlete, I encourage you to try and create something like this for your team. There is nothing better than showing a child that them reaching a goal is a great success. This method can easily work in any sports setting you find yourself in. The most important competitor in life is yourself and this teaches kids at a young age how to set your own goals and crush them.