In his recent piece on participation trophies, Will Helms argues against giving kids participation trophies because it breeds false expectations and an attitude of laziness in children. This is a misguided argument for at least two reasons.
First, youth sports are supposed to be fun. While coaches and little league parents can sometimes take them much too seriously, in a society facing a serious obesity problem, anything we can do to keep more people active for a longer period each day is important. If trophies do the trick, so be it.
Second, Helms significantly underestimates the impacts of differential development trajectories among children. Simply put, kids develop at different rates. Dominant soccer playing countries like Germany and Spain have realized that too much of a focus on winning at a young age actually hinders the development of top class players. This is because players with size and speed can drown out those with intelligence and skill at a young age. Often players level out athletically over time, and then those with skill and intelligence rise to the top. But many of those same players would have been forced out of the sport entirely had the focus been solely on winning and losing.
So let’s not throw out those participation trophies quite yet.
Conor Harrison is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography.