For the longest time, sports were competitive events that taught children to work hard so they could possibly earn a trophy by the end to show off all their hard work. These skills also carried over into their everyday lives, creating a group of hard working people by the time all those kids became adults.
Nowadays, we give children trophies just for registering to play. Because of this, we created the "trophy generation."
I was a dancer all my life, so you only received a trophy or ribbon if you were top three in your event. I already grew up with this background, and I am happy that this is one place where everyone does not go home with a trophy.
Once I began playing sports in fifth grade, taking up volleyball, bowling, basketball and softball, I started receiving trophies for no reason.
The first few instances when I received a trophy for doing nothing, I was confused. We did not win our division, nor did we have a winning record, so why were we receiving trophies?
When parents, coaches and organizations do this, they are giving children a positive reward, ultimately conditioning them to believe that if they just show up, they will get a reward. This is something known as classical conditioning, where there are two stimuli that a person can put together.
By giving these kids an award just for showing up to the game or picking grass in the outfield, we are teaching them that it is ok to not try. This is ultimately carrying over into their everyday lives.
Everyone wants to complain that children these days are spoiled and do not have the drive to do anything, but no one wants to address the reason on how all these kids got there. The only people we have to blame are ourselves.
If we want future generations to change in regards to being determined and driven, we need to go back to the way things were. When I was growing up, you only received an award if you or your team won or got in second, which is also something to be proud of.
Not only is giving them a trophy for everything they do affecting how they behave, but it is also affecting the future of sports. The amount of dedication and competition has gone down in recent years because no one is striving to get better. If everyone is going to get an award anyway, what is the point of trying?
Now it is time to make a change. If we want to keep having children who are unmotivated and entitled, we can continue with giving everyone a trophy. But if we want a generation that is going to work hard to be at the top, we need to make a change.
Sports are something that are supposed to be a positive impact on kids, making them healthier and teaching them how to persevere. By giving everyone a trophy, we are doing the exact opposite.
These children are the future of the United States. Do we want driven individuals who will make this country better, or people who think trying is the way to go? We, as Americans, need to decide before it becomes too late for future generations.
