Nicolas Scola | Participation Trophies: how to create a generation of excuses, laziness, and depression

Why protecting kids from failure sets them up to fail

Photo Credit: Nicolas Scola

By Nicolas Scola

“In closing, I will leave you with the words of Rocky Balboa: ‘You me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life…. but it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward…that’s how winning is done.’” 

The use of a Rocky quote for the closing remarks of my valedictory address in high school was a natural choice. I grew up in an Italian-American household with Gen X parents who introduced me to Sylvester Stallone movies and Frank Sinatra songs before I could speak. 

I was also heading to the City of Brotherly Love in the fall: the place where Rocky goes from scrappy boxer to World Champ. But in a quite tangible way, I identified with the Italian Stallion’s story.

My love of the Rocky series went beyond blasting “Eye of the Tiger” before tests or debate tournaments or adorning my room with a large poster of Balboa clad in American boxing shorts staring down Drago in Soviet yellow and red. 

As someone who had experienced his fair share of rejection throughout roughly two decades of life, Rocky’s novel conception of “winning” resonated with me in a unique way. It was similar to a view that I was taught by my immigrant family. I distinctly remember my mother instructing me that you win when you fight, when you do not let others impede your path, and when you can look back and know that you put forward every ounce of effort that you had. 

In modern American culture, we are rarely taught that winning entails being the one who can take the most punches and remain standing. Winning is an ambiguous term today, given a more encompassing definition and readjusted to fit circumstances.

I remember first encountering the reality that modern conceptions of “winning” no longer prioritize excellence and perseverance while playing sports. Aside from being an average little league baseball player and above average middle school offensive and defensive lineman, most other sports that I tried…I was far from stellar. Yet, every year at the end of a season, I would receive a trophy just like every other person on the team. I distinctly recall being a part of my eighth-grade February Frenzy basketball team which placed runner-up in the county championship. 

I played a total of fifteen minutes across three games, mostly in “garbage time,” mustering a handful of rebounds and a few points. My good friend, a star basketball player who went on to play varsity in high school, averaged more than fifteen points per game, hitting game sealing shots in two of them. At the end of the tournament we both left the stadium with the same trophy which read: “February Frenzy Runner Up.” 

Many social scientists have dubbed Gen Z “The Trophy Generation.” Young adults have grown up in an environment where an expectation of reward, in the form of trophies, has contributed toward entitlement and a lack of work ethic. The perception of laziness attached to my generation is apparent, even among Gen Zers. The newest adults in America lack the grit, determination, fight and competitive spirit of previous generations. Employers agree, listing members of Gen Z as some of the most difficult people to work alongside. 

A March 2024 poll by the Freedom Economy Index cites troubling findings: “68% of small business owners find Gen Zers to be the ‘least reliable’ of all their employees. 71% of employers say Gen Z is the most likely group to have a workplace mental health issue. 62% say Gen Z is the most likely group to cause division and toxicity in the workplace. 57% say Gen Z is the most likely group to pose a risk of a workplace lawsuit.”

While the sources of Gen Z’s ineptitudes are varied, participation trophies are not an inconsequential factor. In fact, data shows that the use of participation trophies as a mechanism to reward children for the act of simply partaking in an activity is quite detrimental. As New York Times bestselling author Ashley Merryman explains: “The idea was if we give kids trophies, if we tell them they’re wonderful, if we tell them they’re special, they’ll sort of develop a sense of fearlessness and then they’ll actually be more willing to do difficult things, and actually, we now have about 20 years of research that shows that’s not true.”

So what is the best way to prepare American children for success? Well, for starters, it is imperative that they learn the lessons of the real world at a young age. Life does not dole out rewards according to a fixed quota system. Furthermore, unfairness is an enduring reality that everyone must contend with. 

This is not to say that it is good to adopt a nihilistic or victim mentality. As a proponent of positive psychology, I firmly believe that it is always better to be optimistic. Furthermore, setting aspirational goals is fundamental to future success. However, it is important to keep in mind a simple golden rule of achievement: winning lies at the nexus of hard work and talent; if you are lacking in either, your end result is likely to be less than satisfactory.  

Participation trophies contravene both aspects of my golden rule for success. They teach more talented children to invest little effort because their hard work will not be properly recognized, and they give less talented “participants” a false sense of achievement. Most importantly, participation trophies fail to equip children with the grit that is necessary to be successful in life.

As Balboa likes to say, “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.” 

Failure is a necessary part of proper growth and development, something which participation trophies prevent children from experiencing. It’s time that parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors remove the kid gloves from America’s youth and equip them with a mentality geared toward success. 


Nicolas Scola is a sophomore in Wharton and the College from Morristown, NJ. Nicolas is also the podcast director for The Pennsylvania Post. His email is nscola@wharton.upenn.edu

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