You earned a trophy for that?

Should kids get trophies just for being on a team?

James Harrison, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is a no-nonsense father who believes that hard work is a reward in and of itself.

Harrison explained on Instagram, “While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do… these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy”. He hates them so much he is giving the trophies back, despite his children being only six and eight years old. (They also give awards for good sportsmanship and to division champions.).

“We are about building upon the building blocks of the fundamentals of sports and the sportsmanship and the camaraderie of being a part of the team”, said Micki Klemencic, youth sports director.

I am somewhere in the middle. Awards that are earned can help. “… The little kids, it encourages them to get in there and keep trying and keep active, and it’s good for them”.

He’s inspired by the children – some as young as 2 – who sign up for the quarter- or half-mile runs. “They just sit and play video games all day!”

When I was a kid, cable TV consisted of only 50 or so channels, and, get this, one HBO!

Everyone in the youth sports, mostly 4- to 10-year-olds, gets a participation ribbon “so that everyone is equal”, she said. I agree that parents frequently fall into the trap of over-praising children for trivial “accomplishments” that even children recognize as silly.

Call me an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy, yet this middle-aged man grew up in a time when there were no participation trophies, no self-esteem programs, none of this PC rot that has turned many into entitled, narcissistic babies of today.

I don’t think Adam would have saved that baseball if I had given everyone a game ball. They’re an end-of-the-season afterthought, something kids get on the last day that, in all likelihood, goes up on a shelf for the next few years.

Bowen writes the sports opinion column for KidsPost.

September brings a new school year and a fresh cycle of activities for kids, such as sports, theater, music, dance and the arts. His latest soccer book, “Out of Bounds”, was published this month.