What's the deal with medals and trophies?

I've often heard parents and young athletes talk about the size of the medal or trophy at a tournament as a measuring stick for the quality of the event. I'm adamantly opposed to large trophies and gaudy rewards for many reasons that are not the topic of this post. Nonetheless, these awards seem to be a driving force in the lives of many young athletes (and parents). Does it really matter how the kid gets the medal or trophy?

There are a lot of answers to this straight forward question. Many would say, "of course it matters, they need to earn it." Others claim participation is worth something and it's the carrot that gets them away from video games and promotes healthy competition and activity. Still, some believe that the trophy, and the size, is the be-all, end-all to the experience.

Dan Gable told me that he believes kids should receive bananas at tournaments because after one week, the banana gets old and it's time to get a new one. No one wants a rotten banana on their mantel. By the way, I've seen Gable's mantle and there are no bananas. There is an Olympic Gold Medal, though.

The reason I'm bringing up this subject is because I saw something in my 3-year old son that I wasn't aware of as a critic of the overabundance of medals and trophies. It's nothing that is going to force others to say, "see, I told you so, when your own have kids..." (I hear that too often). It actually solidifies my conviction on this subject. Isaiah was digging around at Victory and found a gold medal at the bottom of a drawer. It was left over from an event that I held four years ago. It didn't matter to him. He loved this "new" gold medal. He wore it the entire day and even took his afternoon nap with it. I hear parents and see forum posts explain the importance of these awards by describing how their kid sleeps with his/her trophy after an event because it means so much to him. And it does.

Reality check: why not just buy your son or daughter a medal or trophy? My son got to enjoy his gold medal and then, after a while, the newness wore off and now it's sitting on the steps. Isn't this the final destination for all trophies and medals? Eventually they get old and less exciting. Sure, some of them have a deeper meaning and great value (like Gable's Olympic gold medal), but they get old just like bananas. Is the trophy-looking carrot really what's best for children. Must they compete in events to "earn" or receive a medal?

I had no shame in letting my son parade around the house with his medal even though he didn't earn it. I'm glad I have this renewed perspective. I actually don't have to take my kids to a youth wrestling tournament, surrounded by chaos and confusion, for him to have this experience. It can be this simple. Kids crave the trophy, but many of them aren't interested in the competition they must endure before receiving it. It's a tricky marketing scheme to get them in the door to feed the youth sports system. The parents don't need convincing, do they? But the children do. They'll participate just for the medal or trophy. Event organizers are well aware of this and promote it.

So, what's the deal with medals and trophies? Are they essential to long term development? When Target or ShopKo start carrying gold medals, it could be the end of youth tournaments. I haven't decided if that would be a good or bad thing.