In Defense of Bryce Harper’s ‘No Participation Trophies’ Comment
In an age where everyone is a winner no matter what, one baseball player took a stance conveying the opposite message.
Last Saturday, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper took some time to speak with a group of Washington D.C. little league baseball players. The four-time all-star and 2015 NL MVP had an important message for the kids.
“No participation trophies,” he told the young group. “First place only.”
A line from the movie ‘The Incredibles’ comes to mind: “When everyone’s super, no one will be.” This quote came from the film’s primary antagonist, whose goal was to see that no one should be made to feel more accomplished than anyone else.
That type of mentality has crept its way into the sports culture we’ve created today. At the end of the day, everyone is the same. Is that the lesson we want to teach our young athletes?
Every kid on the field can’t be the best. But they should all want to be. We should all want them to be. Simply showing up and being content with putting in minimal effort is not enough. Is it right that the winning teams should get the exact same trophies and medals as the losing teams?
Believe it or not, this kind of coddling in little league sports can extend into the real world. It creates a sense of entitlement that sticks with these kids all the way into their adult lives.
These days, the awards are handed out just like the postgame snacks. Everyone gets one. Never earned, always given.
Some say “participation trophies encourage kids to keep going out.” While that may be true, you have to ask yourself if that’s enough. Are they going out because they actually want to play or because they know they’ll get an award just for signing up?
Giving trophies and medals to those who truly deserve them is beneficial for both the recipients and non-recipients. The recipients are rewarded for their hard work and dedication. The non-recipients gain a newfound motivation to work even harder. They gain the desire to be more than what they previously believed they could be. Whether they reach that level or not is irrelevant. The real takeaway is that they decided they wanted something and they put in the work to try and get it.
My father has always told me: “There are two types of people in this world. Those who lets things happen, and those who make things happen.”
We need our youth athletes wanting to make things happen. It may not make them the best baseball player on their team, but it will help them adopt an attitude imperative to leading a successful life.
So, good on Bryce Harper for trying to impart a critical mindset on these little leaguers. Whether you like him or not, there’s no denying he’s one the best baseball players in the world. He didn’t make four all-star appearances and win an MVP award by age 24 all by accident. He had the drive to make it happen.
Success does not fall in your lap. Instead of making everyone feel like they got first place, why not encourage them to actually try and achieve first place?
