Annotated Bibliography

When my parents first put me in sports, I would always get a participation trophy
for doing absolutely nothing. For example, my soccer team was awful. I did not know
anything about soccer, I was always running in the other direction, but I got a trophy at
the end of the season. Everyone has their own separate opinion about participation
trophies, but in my opinion and through all the research I have conducted, I have seen
that participation trophies are more harmful than helpful. Thus saying, participation
trophies are bad and should be eliminated. Since I have grown up in the age of
participation trophies, I am able to see how children are affected by participation
trophies. When reflecting back on my past experiences on receiving participation
trophies and also seeing how it has affected my sister, I can see how participation
trophies do more hard than good. I work at a local recreation center where I see first
hand the effect they have on kids.

Elliott, Chris. “Sports in America: Should Everyone Get a Trophy?” ​Bleacher Report​, Bleacher
Report, 3 Oct. 2017,
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1074105-sports-in-america-should-everyone-get-a-tro
phy

Chris Elliot wrote the article, “Should Everyone Get a Trophy?”, in 2012 on the website
bleacherreport.com. Elliot wrote that every young athlete should not get a trophy
because it is teaching nothing to the kids. It is showing that the kids who don’t try as
hard and don’t show up to practice half the time then it’s ok, as Elliot said. By Elliot
mentioning this, it shows kids at a young age that they can do a bad job on something,
but still get rewarded for doing it. Elliot goes on to write about letterman jackets and how
they used to be all the rage and you had to work really hard to get it, but now it is
something that everyone can get. Elliot says, “This kind of entitled attitude not only
leads kids to expect a reward for any effort given but also diminishes the concept and
prestige of even receiving a trophy” (Elliot). This quote, by Elliot, is talking about how by
giving kids participation trophies, it entitles them to not have to do anything to win.
Elliot’s quote goes on to explain that It also takes away from the kids who have worked
super hard to get where they are today and they get a trophy, but it means nothing
because they could get one for not doing anything. This is what we are teaching
children when they are given participation trophies, described in Elliot’s article.

These viewpoints help show that not every young athlete should get a participation
trophy. It fits into the debate because the debate describes if young athletes should get
trophies just for participating, not winning anything. Pathos are used very heavily in this
article because it wants to grab onto the emotion that kids are so entitled these days.
The audience is parents of the athletes and athletes that are participating in sports. This
author would seem credible because he is a writer for a famous sport website that every
person into sports looks at, which is Bleacher Report. This website talks about all types
of professional sports and are very famous on their social media platforms. I agree with
the source that every young athlete should not get a trophy. I also agree that as we give
participation trophies out to everyone, it teaches the kids that they do not need to work
as hard to get things they want and when they get into the adult world, they will realize
that they have to put in the work to actually achieve what they need to achieve.

English, Colleen. “Rewarding Participation in Youth Sport: Beyond Trophies for Winning.”
cultura_ciencia_deporte​, vol. 13, no. 38, Jan. 2018, pp. 109–118.,
doi:10.12800/ccd.v13i38.1066.

Colleen English wrote the article, ¨Rewarding Participation in Youth Sports:

Beyond Trophies for Winning,¨ in 2017 for Penn State Berks. English´s article talks
about how when her kids got participation trophies and she took them back because,
yes she loves her kids, but she thinks that her kids should earn their trophies. Colleen
English studies philosophical and historical perspectives on sports at Penn State
University. English goes on to mention about how youth sports is a valuable time for
teaching kids the rules and techniques in the game. Ms. English’s article is about
teaching that kids get trophies for doing nothing will change their outlook on sports and
life. English goes on to mention in her article about how James Harrison, a former
football player for the Steelers, decided to post about how his kids got participation
trophies and his reaction to it. English mentions James Harrison is no exception to
failure. English describes how he used to play on an NFL team and if they lose a game,
they didn’t get anything, they just lost. Harrison goes on to say, “I’m not sorry for
believing that everything in life should be earned and I’m not about to raise two boys to
be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they
tried their best” (English). This quote in English’s article shows that we should only get
trophies because we earn them, not because we think we deserve them.

This source views that we should not have trophies. But, it also mentions a little about
how participation trophies aren’t bad for younger kids though for older kids, it isn’t right
to give them participation trophies. In this article, it refers to a lot of pathos and ethos. It
refers to ethos because Colleen English has made a degree out of this topic and what it
has done to athletes. It also refers to pathos and ethos because of using the source of
James Harrison. By using James Harrison as a resource, it helps the audience
understand that participation trophies aren’t the way to go. James Harrison has lost
many games and knows how it feels to lose and tell his kids that they shouldn’t get
those trophies only for trying. It also refers to ethos because many people would
consider him as a reliable source because he is famous and many tend to trust people
who are famous. The audience is parents because as James Harrison and Colleen
English are both parents and to tell their kids that they have to earn the right to get a
trophy, it shows that other parents should do the same thing. I think the source is very
good. The source is very credible and explains things on both sides, not just on one
side. The connection that was made with the other article was that they both mentioned
professional athletes. By mentioning the professional athletes, they know what it is like
to lose and how hard it can be for a player. They learn this through losing, not by getting
participation trophies.

Dickhaus, Joshua, et al. “And the Award Goes To: Examining the Effects of The “Trophy
Culture’ on Millennials.” And the Award goes to: Examining the Effects of the
“Trophy Culture” on Millennials, vol, 13, 2019, pp. 1-14.

The article, “And the Award Goes to: Examining the Effects of the “Trophy Culture” on
Millenials,” published in 2019 by Nova Science, written by Joshua Dickhaus, Kennon A.
Brown, Patrick Ferrucci, and Mia Long Anderson, talk about what the culture has turned
into because of the trophy culture. The authors explain the harmful effects that this
“trophy culture” has on the youth. The authors start off by defining what it means to be a
“trophy culture”. The authors describe it as that when you participate in a sport, then you
get a trophy. When you even try for the season, you get a trophy, but the authors go on
to describe how it is bad for the young children of today. The authors mention that they
were only able to survey a small amount of people, which means, their research isn’t as
accurate as they would like. If they got more people, then the findings would be more
secure.

This article represents the bad aspects of giving every young athlete a participation
trophy. It fits into the debate that we should not give out participation trophies, only give
out trophies to the winners. Ethos that is important is that all the authors are writing for
the Nova Science program. At the beginning of the article, it does mention which
University each person is studying at, to show their credibility. They use logos by getting
their research from local people, but also by talking to head people in the program and
how it affects children's performance in life. Pathos that are used are talking about what
could happen in society. Everyone is always complaining about the millenials and how
they are too soft and by giving the participation trophies, they are making the children
soft. They don’t know how to accept failure. The source is for parents and for the people
in charge of the sports and are giving the participation trophies out. I agree that
participation trophies shouldn’t be given out because they hurt the kids and the article
goes on to explain in more detail how the kids are more harmed than helped.

Manning, Z. (2017, March 21). Do participation trophies hurt our motivation? Some say
yes.
Retrieved December 9, 2019, from
https://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/participation-trophies-becoming-a-hot-topic-in-terms-o
f-mental-health/.

The article, “Do Participation Trophies Hurt our Motivation? Some say yes,” published in
2017 and written by Zachary Manning wrote about how participation trophies hurt our
motivation. Manning quoted David Gould, a sports psychologist, that said, “they should
only be getting trophies if they win because it could hurt the child’s motivation”
(Manning). This quote from Manning’s article explains that by giving kids participation
trophies all the time, then no one would understand what hard work is about. We need
to only give out trophies to the winners, not just the people who participate, explained
Manning. Manning talks about the other side of the argument too. He mentions that
giving out participation trophies makes kids feel appreciated for all their hard work.
Manning goes on to explain, participation trophies help kids, who are not as skilled as
the others, to keep going and keep striving to work hard in all they do even if they are
losing.

This article by Zachary Manning, mentions both viewpoints of how participation trophies
are good and how they are bad. He does this by quoting a sports psychologist and how
in his professional opinion it is bad to give kids participation trophies because it ruins
their motivation to work hard. Manning goes on in his article to mention on how
participation trophies are good by examining on how it makes kids feel appreciated for
their hard work. For example, here at Copper Hills High, I was on the volleyball team.
My sophomore year, I never played because I wasn’t as good as the other girls and
sometimes I would get discouraged and participation trophies do help kids like me who
never seeing the court. This source fits into the debate because this website helps show
it through an older perspective. Zachary Manning has written many articles about high
school problems and the pressures of performing. It helps give perspective to the
audience that participation trophies can be seen as good and as bad. Logos are shown
in this article because Manning mentions polls that have been done for people to
express their opinions on if participation trophies help or hinder. Pathos are also
included because in the article, it mentions on how participation trophies can help kids
feel wanted. Every person has felt that they weren't wanted and participation trophies
will help kids feel that way. The audience are students who participate in sports or
something competitive. This source is credible for the audience because Manning is a
good resource when it comes to talking about competitive sports. Manning has written
articles about how kids who feel pressured and that they will take drugs and other
sports related topics on the benefits and harmful things that could happen. I agree with
Manning on how participation trophies are bad, but he also mentioned that they are also
good. This fits into the debate because it mentions the argument if participation trophies
are good or not.

Merryman, Ashley. “Losing Is Good for You .” ​The New York Times,​ 24 Sept. 2013.

Ashely Merryman’s article, “Losing Is Good for You,” published in The New York Times,
in 2013 is about how participation trophies can be bad for you. Ashely Merryman writes
about how trophies used to be something you strived to get, but now you are just given
them for trying. Merryman goes on to quote Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at
Stanford University, about how participation trophies aren’t very effective for kids, like
how some parents make it seem; “they enjoy hearing that they’re talented, smart, and
so on. But after such praise of their innate abilities, they collapse at the first experience
of difficulty. Demoralized by their failure, they say they’d rather cheat than risk failing
again” (Dweck). This quote that Merryman states, explains how we give kids
participation trophies doesn’t teach kids anything. Society doesn’t give kids a chance to
fail, Merryman explains, which causes kids to want to cheat than fail again. We teach
them if they try, then they are winning in life, but they are not, Merryman says.
Merryman goes to say, if we give the kids trophies that deserve them, then it will change
kids way on how to work hard.

This source supports the view points that participation trophies aren’t good for kids.
Merryman explains in her article how it is good for people to learn how to lose. It
teaches everyone that it is fine to lose, just work harder next time. This source fits into
the debate because it helps support that participation trophies are bad by describing on
how they will hurt kids if they get participation trophies. This source, goes on to describe
how when kids get participation trophies, it doesn’t help them when they become older.
Your boss isn’t going to care if you show up and do nothing, they want you to work hard.
Rhetorical aspects that this source represent are ethos because this source mentions
many other outside sources than just her own opinion. Merryman gets opinions for
psychologists and other coaches and studies done by universities. This article includes
logos because Merryman mentions many other studies down by teachers, universities,
and psychologist. The audience are parents and kids. Merryman explains it how parents
would understand and how kids would understand by giving experiences that would
help both age groups understand. This source is credible. I think this source is good
because she has written other articles about participation trophies. Merryman also has
kids so she knows what it would be like for them and wants to teach them that
participation trophies are bad. I agreed with that participation trophies are bad and her
examples of why it is bad is a good example. This source fits into the debate because it
helps show that participation trophies aren’t good for people. They don’t help you when
you become an adult, the only thing they help you with are self-esteem.

“Trip to State Meet is Earned By Blue Devils,” The Missoulian, 1942

The article, “Trip to State Meet is Earned By Blue Devils,” written in 1942 and produced
in the Missoulian newspaper talks about when participation trophies were given out it
1942 at a basketball tournament. The newspaper article goes on to explain how the
team who won the tournament, North Carolina Blue Devils, received golden basketball
trophies and the rest of the players in the tournament received participation trophies.
The article The article goes on to explain how the game went down and how hard the
Blue Devils worked.
The article shows how long participation trophies have been given out. This shows that
participation trophies have been around a long time. This article shows that participation
trophies haven’t just been given out recently, but have been around for a long time. This
source fits in the debate because it helps show that there has been a long history of
participation trophies. The first participation trophy recorded was given out in World War
1. Rhetorical aspects that are important to be considered are logos. This article shows
logos because it mentions the history of participation trophies given out, when everyone
else in the tournament got participation trophies who didn’t win. The audience are fans
of the Blue Devils who won the championship, but it is also written for parents. This is
the audience because it shows that even if you did not win, in a statewide tournament,
you still got a participation trophy because you tried really hard. This source is credible
because it was a tournament that was reported in a newspaper for everyone in the state
to read. This source is credible to the audience because it shows that there were
participation trophies were given out long before many of us were born.

In conclusion, participation trophies are not good for kids to grow up with.
Participation trophies only stop kids from learning how to lose. Losing is not a bad thing
to learn at a young age. I am very happy that I learned that losing is ok at a young age
because it helped me become the person I am today. Participation trophies can be
good, but codiling your kid and not showing the real world is hurting them more than
helping their self-esteem. To solve this problem, participation trophies should not be
given out anymore.