I am still amazed at the number of youth sports organizations that continue to award trophies for participating in organized activities. While this may bring about feelings of self worth is it really a clear picture of what life is really like? Teens should be motivated to go beyond the status quo and when everyone is rewarded for simply showing up it sends a clear message that trophies are not achieved by performing above the average. The biggest issue that this creates is a sense of youth entitlement which is quickly translated into a problem in the entire American culture. Teens need to be taught that in order to win you have to work to achieve and simply expecting an award is completely different than winning an award. Work ethic is not based on simply showing up it is based on performance. What separates your child from simply existing or achieving?

As strange as this may seem, this thought process in teens tends to go beyond athletic programs and can have a direct impact on how they view and handle life situations. This mindset first came to my attention while coaching a local little league team when my son Andrew was 9 years old. This team resembled a modern day definition of the Bad News Bears but the bright spot was that in charge to coaching a group of great kids with big hearts. Mid way during what was viewed by most coaches as a losing season, my son turned to me and questioned at what point the team would be receiving their trophies. This particular question completely puzzled me to the point where it led to an open discussion with Andrew about our losing record and why he felt that the team deserved some type of honors. The issue of modern day work ethic flashed in front of my eyes when my son responded "but dad everyone gets a trophy." It was at this point that I realized that we have trained our teens with a feel good approach that everyone in life would receive an award even without performance. I believe this takes away the will to achieve in a lot of our children.

The real issue that we face as a society is in today's work force where we are experiencing more of this type of belief and thinking which has led to issues of productivity. As managers and business owners struggle to find the way to motivate employees, isn't it interesting to think that that motivation could have been taken away on a little league field in America where kids still earn trophies without merit.

Bobby Kipper
Director, National Center for the Prevention of Community Violence
President and CEO, Bobby Kipper and Associates