Kia Commercial hits "participation" trophies

[newracer]

The (better) kids are keeping score, even if the adults aren't.

In addition to coaching I was a referee when my youngest son played soccer. The kids were about 4-5 and we didn't officially keep score. One time a kid on my sons team was proudly stating that they were winning after a goal. I asked him if he knew the score, he said "no." I then asked how he knew they were winning if he didn't know the score. He said "All I know is that we have scored a bunch of goals and they haven't scored any so we must be winning!" He was correct.

[Gman]

At a very young age I can agree with the kids getting something for participating but it doesn't have to be a "trophy." For the teams I coached it was a ball or bat that all the players could sign as a memento of the team/season. We also did shirts a few times.

Yeah..."team" stuff. It doesn't have to be an "achievement" type reward.

In little league, we'd get a ball with our batting average on it or something like that.

[HoneyBadger]

At a very young age I can agree with the kids getting something for participating but it doesn't have to be a "trophy." For the teams I coached it was a ball or bat that all the players could sign as a memento of the team/season. We also did shirts a few times.

I like this idea.

[BPTactical]

I feel VERY strongly about this subject.
Competitive sports are critical to a child becoming a well adjusted adult.
If they do not learn to lose with grace and dignity, if they do not learn to win with humility and respect then how are they to exhibit these traits as an adult?
If you didn't win, then you must work/train harder to become better, if you did win you must still train/work to stay on top of your game and the competition.
Adult life is all about winning and losing.
Didn't get the job you interviewed for?
You lost.
Landed the promotion you were hoping for?
You won!
Girlfriend dumped you?
You lost.
She said "yes" to the most important question you ever asked?
You won.

If a child does not learn these traits we get problems.
Problems like suicide, shootings, drug abuse etc.

Kudos to KIA.

[buffalobo]

I feel VERY strongly about this subject.
Competitive sports are critical to a child becoming a well adjusted adult.
If they do not learn to lose with grace and dignity, if they do not learn to win with humility and respect then how are they to exhibit these traits as an adult?
If you didn't win, then you must work/train harder to become better, if you did win you must still train/work to stay on top of your game and the competition.
Adult life is all about winning and losing.
Didn't get the job you interviewed for?
You lost.
Landed the promotion you were hoping for?
You won!
Girlfriend dumped you?
You lost.
She said "yes" to the most important question you ever asked?
You won.

If a child does not learn these traits we get problems.
Problems like suicide, shootings, drug abuse etc.

Kudos to KIA.

As my friend "Stinkfoot" would say "Damn straight".

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[Irving]

I disagree. Sports are not a required experience to growing up and turning into an adult. There are plenty of win/lose situations that present themselves in life otherwise. I suspect (and it can probably be proven pretty easily) that the majority of people on the planet did not grow up playing sports, and they've turned out fine.

I tend to agree with RMAC757 that at a young age, getting a kid out to actually participate in something is the more important aspect of the whole experience. With that said, there certainly comes a point when there needs to be competition in competitive sports. Without competition, then there isn't really a point. Also, in the big picture, a participation trophy is still more than the kids who weren't on the team got. Sure they just showed up, but they showed up when they didn't have to. I also like the way newracer handled this with giving a token of participation that wasn't a trophy. However, it could be argued that participation trophies at a young age will actually increase competition later. What I mean is, when you start out getting a trophy for showing up, there should come a time when a trophy is still available, but only for winners. Kids will have a taste for trophies if you will.

In short, participation trophies should stop being part of the sport when score starts being kept and part of the game. Having a kid around the age of starting sports, I think K-3 should be about as far as participation trophies go. After that, the kids are old enough to keep score and remember game highlights themselves.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I think it's healthy to have kids playing or participating in a team activity at a young age that is structured to just have fun without necessarily keeping score but kids WILL keep score nonetheless. If you have them play dodgeball, I'll bet 2:1 at least half the kids will have kept a silent mental count of how many times they got hit versus some other kid or how many times they were able to hit another kid. However, if you DO have the team participation activity, don't cheapen it with a "participation" award -- they should learn some things are done just for the fun, not with the expectation of getting anything out of it.

Anyway, I posted the video because I didn't bother watching the donkeys and hadn't seen it. Kudos to Kia.

[Gman]

I disagree. Sports are not a required experience to growing up and turning into an adult. There are plenty of win/lose situations that present themselves in life otherwise. I suspect (and it can probably be proven pretty easily) that the majority of people on the planet did not grow up playing sports, and they've turned out fine.

Even if they didn't play sports, did they practice for and compete in a spelling bee? Did they try to improve their acting skills to get the desired part in the school play? Did they work at playing the trumpet to become 'first chair'? Did they study hard to graduate at the top of their class to get scholarships so that they could take their pick of a free education at their desired college/military academy?

Life is tough and it's competitive. Having an attitude of entitlement won't get you far.

[Irving]

Even if they didn't play sports, did they practice for and compete in a spelling bee? Did they try to improve their acting skills to get the desired part in the school play? Did they work at playing the trumpet to become 'first chair'? Did they study hard to graduate at the top of their class to get scholarships so that they could take their pick of a free education at their desired college/military academy?

Life is tough and it's competitive. Having an attitude of entitlement won't get you far.

That is exactly my point. You just cannot be insulated from life, even if you got a participation trophy as a kid. I understand people that grew up playing competitive sports are passionate about it, but fear not, competition isn't going any where.

[BPTactical]

That is exactly my point. You just cannot be insulated from life, even if you got a participation trophy as a kid. I understand people that grew up playing competitive sports are passionate about it, but fear not, competition isn't going any where.

You were on the Debate Team weren't you