Should Participation Backwards Be Paid?

My first soccer game. There’s a herd of kids chasing the ball and others picking flowers. I was in that herd, chasing the ball, scoring, and putting in all my effort, and yet by the end of the day, everyone got a trophy just for showing up. I didn’t once get acknowledged for my hard work. Participation trophies are given out to athletes who do not win but instead show up. Research shows that children who receive ongoing praise aren’t inspired to succeed, instead, it causes athletes to give up. Participation trophies should not be used because failing motivates athletes to keep trying, kids feel cheated when they aren’t known for their accomplishments, and participation trophies don’t help kids improve. Some think participation trophies help motivate young athletes. Although this is true, failing and not receiving an award motivates kids to keep trying so they can get rewarded for individual accomplishments. Ashley Merryman’s article describes how participation trophies have many

When every child inherits a trophy for just playing or showing up, they don’t learn anything. Along with its many bearings, Merryman claims another, participation trophies don’t just cost a lot of money, underachieve athletes, but also cheat athletes. Ashley Merryman, along with Bradley Morris and Shannon Zentall asserts with recent studies, “ By age 4 or 5, children aren’t fooled by all the trophies. They are surprisingly accurate in identifying who excels and who struggles… those who do well feel cheated when they aren't recognized for their accomplishments” (Merryman 8). This illustrates how without participation trophies children can be recognized for their accomplishments. When children are rewarded for their own accomplishments they are motivated to try harder and learn more during the sport. While kids are recognized for showing up it won’t motivate a young athlete to try new