It is tradition for hockey programs to give
participation trophies at the end of the season for, well, participating. Unfortunately, what does participating really mean? In this post
Brad Jubin, youth sport coach from Atlanta and co-founder of APIVEO, explains the
issues with mindlessly handing out trophies.
I would like to begin by saying that I am not in favor of “participation”
trophies for youth athletes. The reason is not that we are giving out trophies
to every player; instead, it’s the lack of creativity in what we call them and
the meaning behind them. After coaching dozens of youth teams, I know that an eight-
year-old player who came to practice, worked hard, played in the games and
cheered on his/her teammates is not excited to be recognized as a “participant.”
As parents and coaches, we have to be able to come up with something more
meaningful than “participant.”
