The Participation Trophy Generation

[greg775]

I was thinking about something the other day. The current generation of 20 somethings to young 30 somethings are members of the generation that could do no wrong as kids. When they played competitive sports it was OK to suck and OK to lose. These are the same people who quit jobs after a year or so and move on to another firm or profession when the jobs aren't fun or what they expected. We've been told the current generation is seeking easy street ASAP and can't understand work ethic like previous generations.

 

My psychological question is why hasn't this moved over to sports? We expect a ton from our young athletes. College football and basketball players get ripped in the press and by fans when they don't perform well. Guys in big league baseball from the Participation Trophy Generation get ripped and are expected to produce lest they get reamed by media and fans.

 

My question is ... why do we expect this age group to perform like the Pete Rose age group? Is this a factor in baseball hitters not being as good nowadays or young NBA lottery picks of the last 3-4 years for the most part sucking? Has this filtered to professional sports? I just wondered why fans and media expect so much from young players nowadays when they are from a totally different generation, one not raised to excel and compete as hard as past generations. Also, how can a 20-something fan who was raised that losing is OK and just participating is enough ... how can that fan demand so much from players and even boo players when they were raised that failure is very OK?

 

Please respond if you understand my point.

Edited June 23, 2015 by greg775

[StrangeSox]

Every generation has complained about "lazy kids these days looking for easy street!"

[Y2HH]

Every generation has complained about "lazy kids these days looking for easy street!"

 

That's true, but every generation prior to this one wasn't coddled and told that winning doesn't matter. When I was a kid, there was an old saying from the 1950's we ALL lived by -- winning isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing.

 

Needless to say, the point of his post is that the current generations' saying is more akin too...winning isn't everything because everybody wins!

 

They're all going to find how how ok it is to lose soon enough.

[Iwritecode]

I think the whole idea of participation awards making kids ok with losing is BS to begin with. I'm almost 40 and we had those awards back when I played. It's not a "new" thing.

 

The thing is, kids aren't stupid. They know what those trophies are. They know that they aren't nearly as good as the first place trophies the other kids are walking around with.

 

Often times we would get ice cream or some other treat after the game even if we lost but it didn't make us want to win any less.

 

Honestly, I think the bigger problem is the kids that are getting pushed by their parents who are trying to re-live their failed sports aspirations through their kids.

 

I have 3 girls and only the youngest had/has any interest in playing any kind of sport. She's not the worst, but she's not the best either. If she wants to continue to try and get better I'll support her but I'm not going to push her thinking she'll be the next Cat Osterman or Jennie Finch.

[NorthSideSox72]

I think the whole idea of participation awards making kids ok with losing is BS to begin with. I'm almost 40 and we had those awards back when I played. It's not a "new" thing.

 

The thing is, kids aren't stupid. They know what those trophies are. They know that they aren't nearly as good as the first place trophies the other kids are walking around with.

 

Often times we would get ice cream or some other treat after the game even if we lost but it didn't make us want to win any less.

 

Honestly, I think the bigger problem is the kids that are getting pushed by their parents who are trying to re-live their failed sports aspirations through their kids.

 

I have 3 girls and only the youngest had/has any interest in playing any kind of sport. She's not the worst, but she's not the best either. If she wants to continue to try and get better I'll support her but I'm not going to push her thinking she'll be the next Cat Osterman or Jennie Finch.

Well said.

 

Also, I sure as heck don't want my kids to be like Pete Rose.

 

[StrangeSox]

Also, I sure as heck don't want my kids to be like Pete Rose.

[Dick Allen]

I think the whole idea of participation awards making kids ok with losing is BS to begin with. I'm almost 40 and we had those awards back when I played. It's not a "new" thing.

 

The thing is, kids aren't stupid. They know what those trophies are. They know that they aren't nearly as good as the first place trophies the other kids are walking around with.

 

Often times we would get ice cream or some other treat after the game even if we lost but it didn't make us want to win any less.

 

Honestly, I think the bigger problem is the kids that are getting pushed by their parents who are trying to re-live their failed sports aspirations through their kids.

 

I have 3 girls and only the youngest had/has any interest in playing any kind of sport. She's not the worst, but she's not the best either. If she wants to continue to try and get better I'll support her but I'm not going to push her thinking she'll be the next Cat Osterman or Jennie Finch.

I agree. The problem isn't the kids. It's the parents. The kids deserve a trophy for putting up with them. Go to a youth league game and watch how many buffoons are coaching and watching as parents acting like their entire lives are dependent on the outcome of a game between 10 year olds.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Dick Allen

[illinilaw08]

I think the whole idea of participation awards making kids ok with losing is BS to begin with. I'm almost 40 and we had those awards back when I played. It's not a "new" thing.

 

The thing is, kids aren't stupid. They know what those trophies are. They know that they aren't nearly as good as the first place trophies the other kids are walking around with.

 

Often times we would get ice cream or some other treat after the game even if we lost but it didn't make us want to win any less.

 

Honestly, I think the bigger problem is the kids that are getting pushed by their parents who are trying to re-live their failed sports aspirations through their kids.

 

I have 3 girls and only the youngest had/has any interest in playing any kind of sport. She's not the worst, but she's not the best either. If she wants to continue to try and get better I'll support her but I'm not going to push her thinking she'll be the next Cat Osterman or Jennie Finch.

 

Yep.

 

Sports are good for kids, with plenty of value outside of winning and losing. Getting a kid who is terrible at soccer to run around for a half hour game is a win for that kid. Rewarding a kid who is terrible at sports for seeing a commitment through to the end is a win for that kid.

 

Psycho sports parents are a bigger problem than participation trophies. I ump'd park district baseball games and reffed park district soccer and basketball. I've never in my working career had to deal with as many psychotic people as parents during those games - and I was a prosecutor in one of the largest cities in America.

 

With youth sports, yeah, at some point the emphasis should move toward winning vs. losing. But at the early stages, it should be more about keeping kids active and teaching them the skills of the game than winning.

[Jenksismyhero]

I think the whole idea of participation awards making kids ok with losing is BS to begin with. I'm almost 40 and we had those awards back when I played. It's not a "new" thing.

 

The thing is, kids aren't stupid. They know what those trophies are. They know that they aren't nearly as good as the first place trophies the other kids are walking around with.

 

Often times we would get ice cream or some other treat after the game even if we lost but it didn't make us want to win any less.

 

Honestly, I think the bigger problem is the kids that are getting pushed by their parents who are trying to re-live their failed sports aspirations through their kids.

 

I have 3 girls and only the youngest had/has any interest in playing any kind of sport. She's not the worst, but she's not the best either. If she wants to continue to try and get better I'll support her but I'm not going to push her thinking she'll be the next Cat Osterman or Jennie Finch.

 

So you're saying it's bad that I make my 3 year old, from the time he was about 1.5, watch golf with me on the weekends and hit balls in the backyard and constantly tell him "this is your future, you're daddy's ticket to awesome golf courses around the world?"

[southsider2k5]

I love reading threads like this from older generations, as if they weren't the ones who produced and taught the younger generations.

[Iwritecode]

So you're saying it's bad that I make my 3 year old, from the time he was about 1.5, watch golf with me on the weekends and hit balls in the backyard and constantly tell him "this is your future, you're daddy's ticket to awesome golf courses around the world?"

 

I just tell mine that her bowling skills could (help) pay for her college education. She's already got an account with scholarship funds in it from tournaments she's won. They give out LOTS of scholarship money to youth bowlers.

[knightni]

American kids have been accused of being lazy for nearly 240 years.

[Y2HH]

I think the whole idea of participation awards making kids ok with losing is BS to begin with. I'm almost 40 and we had those awards back when I played. It's not a "new" thing.

 

The thing is, kids aren't stupid. They know what those trophies are. They know that they aren't nearly as good as the first place trophies the other kids are walking around with.

 

Often times we would get ice cream or some other treat after the game even if we lost but it didn't make us want to win any less.

 

Honestly, I think the bigger problem is the kids that are getting pushed by their parents who are trying to re-live their failed sports aspirations through their kids.

 

I have 3 girls and only the youngest had/has any interest in playing any kind of sport. She's not the worst, but she's not the best either. If she wants to continue to try and get better I'll support her but I'm not going to push her thinking she'll be the next Cat Osterman or Jennie Finch.

 

Also almost 40, but those sure as hell didn't exist around me when I was a kid.

 

[Y2HH]

I love reading threads like this from older generations, as if they weren't the ones who produced and taught the younger generations.

 

I agree, but my kids are taught to win...so...I'm not teaching that.

[Rowand44]

I blame rap music.

[EvilMonkey]

I would be more worried about college kids that need 'safe spaces' because someone dared speak an opinion that didn't fit their own world view.

[Cknolls]

I would be more worried about college kids that need 'safe spaces' because someone dared speak an opinion that didn't fit their own world view.

 

 

Easy with your microagressions too!

[bmags]

My sister's HS graduation shockingly had ESPNs lester holt who promptly read a exhaustive list of everything wrong with the world today as if it was so much worse than when tuburculosis was rampant (among the awfuls: Deflategate).

 

As an exercise, make a list of all the things you think would be bad to be prevalent activity in the youth generation. It would probably be violence, sex, drug use, teen pregnancy, low graduation rates, etc.

 

But across the board this is the smartest and most responsible generation this country has ever seen. On the other hand, they may be too coddled and lack hubris.

 

I think most would take that tradeoff?

[Quin]

Greg, I say this sincerely as possible.

 

For someone who has lived in a college town for as long as you have, you are drastically out of touch with my generation.

 

 

[caulfield12]

Probably from watching too many Adam Sandler films there in KS.

[Y2HH]

Greg, I say this sincerely as possible.

 

For someone who has lived in a college town for as long as you have, you are drastically out of touch with my generation.

 

He may not be speaking about your generation.

 

Also, I really dislike lumping people into a "generation". You may not be exactly like the rest of your generation. Not everyone from the Millennial generation feels that winning doesn't matter, but a lot of the younger ones DO feel this way and it's not something I witnessed growing up in Gen X. These same people also tend to be overly politically correct, because they're afraid to offend anyone, even if it's just in a joking manner (Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld spoke about this, and I agree with them).

 

All that said, like all previous generations before them, they're trying to do things their way, and they're going to be fine in the end...and while I truly feel that way, that doesn't mean I can't speak up when one of them annoys me.

[knightni]

My sister's HS graduation shockingly had ESPNs lester holt who promptly read a exhaustive list of everything wrong with the world today as if it was so much worse than when tuburculosis was rampant (among the awfuls: Deflategate).

Isn't Lester Holt on NBC?

[Harry Chappas]

Isn't Lester Holt on NBC?

 

Maybe he meant Lester Munson, both have Chicago roots

 

The difference in today's generation v prior are over active parental oversight and information access. Everyone knows everything now a days and situations become over aggrandized.

 

The information age has its pitfalls.

[greg775]

Maybe he meant Lester Munson, both have Chicago roots

 

The difference in today's generation v prior are over active parental oversight and information access. Everyone knows everything now a days and situations become over aggrandized.

 

The information age has its pitfalls.

 

This is the post of the year. Worded like Shakespeare.

"over active parental oversight."

That is such a cool way to say parents have coddled their babies for a couple generations now. You can blame it on the rare mass murders and kidnappings or whatever you want, but parents took away the kids' right to be a kid. No more playing baseball on street corners (you might get hit by a car, you know) or riding bikes with friends to hang out wherever their bikes took them (you might get kidnapped you know) to play whatever sport they felt like playing that day (throw a football, play whiffle ball or rubber ball with a wall as a backstop), play street hockey, go skating at the park in the winter. Nope, parents put uniforms on their kids at age 6 and organized everything lest their little babies get kidnapped or killed by some imagined threat.

 

My original thread was misstated by me I guess. I just wondered why college athletes are expected to win and fans get all hot and bothered when they don't win (football, basketball) when their generation has been taught just competing is OK. How do we expect these kids to be "gamers" when all their lives they've been taught the result doesn't matter?

[Jenksismyhero]

This is the post of the year. Worded like Shakespeare.

"over active parental oversight."

That is such a cool way to say parents have coddled their babies for a couple generations now. You can blame it on the rare mass murders and kidnappings or whatever you want, but parents took away the kids' right to be a kid. No more playing baseball on street corners (you might get hit by a car, you know) or riding bikes with friends to hang out wherever their bikes took them (you might get kidnapped you know) to play whatever sport they felt like playing that day (throw a football, play whiffle ball or rubber ball with a wall as a backstop), play street hockey, go skating at the park in the winter. Nope, parents put uniforms on their kids at age 6 and organized everything lest their little babies get kidnapped or killed by some imagined threat.

 

My original thread was misstated by me I guess. I just wondered why college athletes are expected to win and fans get all hot and bothered when they don't win (football, basketball) when their generation has been taught just competing is OK. How do we expect these kids to be "gamers" when all their lives they've been taught the result doesn't matter?

 

I agree with the general point here, but I mean, if something happened, wouldn't you as a parent feel terrible? Given the availability of organized sports for kids from the time they're 3, call me crazy, but not letting them play on the street isn't some major sin as a parent.

 

My son's K-5 school is 3 blocks from our house. I'm already dreading the day when we let him walk there by himself. I'm not sure it'll happen to be honest! I applaud those parents that want their kids to get out there and explore at a young age. And I 100% think it's bulls*** that some people/communities want to fine them for being bad parents/ But i'm also not going to judge other parents for not wanting to take the risk.

Edited June 24, 2015 by Jenksismybitch