Wise Little League Football sign-ups

I am definitely not one for coddling kids. I am ultra competitive and think everyone should be of the same mindset, which unfortunately is not the case.

BUT, I don't mind giving young kids starting out a trophy for participation. Its great to see their faces light up for them, and I think it encourages them to come back out and play again for those that are on the fence about the sport. This in turn I think makes them better socially, whether or not they end up sticking it out in HS or whatever, or have the top end competitive mindset. What I don't like is not keeping score, and saying everyone is a winner afterward. That goes more toward showing winning, losing, and how hard you need to work to get better as a team, and individual. I don't have a problem with the winners getting bigger trophies or whatnot, but everyone should be rewarded for playing to an extent.

Now, I think of this at the little league level and such. As they mature, fewer rewards should be handed out. Heck, at that high school level, making all-district, or all-region is a joke anymore. Selecting multiple people at a singe position is a crock IMO, and cheapens the "achievement".

The thing is, we are talking about kids, building their self-confidence, rewarding them for even showing up for practices and games, many don't. They see how much work goes into playing a game, and quit. The kids are rewarded for not quitting. Yeah, there are those that stick with it that don't work as hard or play as hard as others, and they get their particpation trophy with everyone else at the end of the season. The major difference is, that little trophy will mean more to the one that worked hard for it, than the one that didn't. The difference is, eventually the kids that won't put in the time and effort that is required to play sports, go away. You usually see them walking the track on Friday nights. The kids that we are talking about, that work hard, and deserve awards no matter what the final scores have been, are the ones who will be there everyday after schoool to practice, and won't miss a game, as long as they're healthy. I have personally seen kids 7-12 years of age play through pain, health problems, size problems (too small and too big) for their age. I've seen them play in bitter cold, wind, rain, mud, and blistering heat. But they do it, because they love it. A trophy is something for them to hold on to during a time when their memories and attention generally is not so long. It is something for them to be proud of, to prove that they have accomplished something in their lives. Mine loves being a part of the team. He gets really upset if he feels that because he missed a play, and the team loses, or the score is close, he feels that his one mess up is the reason the team lost. We know that isn't true, because one player does not make a team, and I explain that to him. Does it change how he feels, not really, he just knows how much I love him. But also, it makes him work harder to not make the same mistake.
The whole point of this argument has been, whether or not anyone thinks our kids "deserve" the trophies or not, is that we parents paid for them, and the kids have not received them, plus one of our businesses that did make up some for two teams, which have been picked up, has not been paid for them. There is something seriously wrong with Wise Little League. They say they're broke. A whole lot of parents are wanting to know what happened to the money.

No one's saying the kids don't deserve to get something for playing the season--it's just that a trophy should be the one thing that goes to the champs. You may get your shirt, you may get your hat, certificate, trip to Pizza Hut, whatever else...but if you're not a champ, you don't get the trophy. I mean, if you want to give each kid a participation trophy--make sure that's what it is and that they know that's what it stands for...then give the kids that actually won the championship another bigger trophy that says they're champs. When they see that, they'll feel a sense of accomplishment by winning the title, and then the other kids will see that and work hard to get that other trophy.

These days I think people are too much into expecting to get something just because they "show up". They show up to school, expect to at least pass a class. They show up to work, expect regular pay raises every 6 months. And on and on...it's a bad cycle.

I think that has always been the idea in our little league programs. When you got your trophy you were announed by your team, and the champs went last, and it was announced that you were the champs.

Wise doesn't have anything like that. The kids play, the coaches pick who they want on all-stars, that's it. There is no special award for the best team.

Since we got a little off track, I want to remind everyone that Wise is having youth football signups on Saturday, August 11 from 12pm-2pm. See you there.