”A man lived near a playground and was greatly disturbed by the noise of kids who came to play.
Whatever he did, he could not get rid of them. He threatened them, tried to make them go, screamed at them, and begged them not to come, but nothing worked.
Then one day he came to the playground and gave each one 5€ and told them he would give them tomorrow the same amount if they came again. For a while, every day when the kids came, he would give them 5€.
When they got used to it, he came one day and said he no longer wanted to give them money to come.
The kids decided that there was no chance to play for free on the playground and stopped coming.”
The question we could ask ourselves is:
”Do the kids stop coming to handball practices for a similar reason?”
This is how most children’s tournaments end up:
With the organizer’s message:
”The best ones went home with the well-deserved cups and medals.”
or
”All participants received the medal they deserved by participating in the tournament.
We hope the medals will motivate them to continue with sports activities
and will be a nice memory of the fun-filled days of the game and happiness!”
The deceit in giving medals is that they are not intended for children but for adults. Coaches, club officials, and parents.
The kids would come and play without medals, and adults need them for the following purposes:
”Tournament organizer for the purpose of tournament promotion.
Club Officers for club promotion.
Coaches for personal promotion.
Parents for motivation for paying membership fees and bringing children to practices and tournaments.”
The medals are one of the reasons why children stop coming to handball practices at puberty.
They are the materialization of a wrong idea:
”Children need rewards to play handball.”
The truth is exactly the opposite:
”Children need to play.”
At the youngest age, all the participants win the medals, and among the elders, only the best ones.
Here are some important questions:
What are the medals?
”A medal is a confirmation that someone is better than someone else.”
How do we get medals?
”Through victories.”
What is the effect of such a system on clubs and coaches?
”The focus of work on achieving results, i.e. victory.”
What is the effect on children:
”They become a means of meeting the goals of adults they are surrounded with.”
The focus of adults on the materialistic makes the essence of handball disappear gradually, which is the game and enjoying the game.
Medals are one of the reasons why children stop coming to handball practices at puberty.
They are the materialization of a wrong idea:
”Children need rewards to play handball.”
The truth is exactly the opposite:
”Children need to play.”
At the youngest age, all the participants win the medals, and among the elders, only the best ones.
Here are some important questions:
What are the medals?
”A medal is a confirmation that someone is better than someone else.”
How do we get medals?
”Through victories.”
What is the effect of such a system on clubs and coaches?
”The focus of work on achieving results, i.e. victory.”
What is the effect on children:
”They become a means of meeting the goals of adults they are surrounded with.”
The focus of adults on the materialistic makes the essence of handball disappear gradually, which is the game and enjoying the game.
Instead of the conclusion, a story:
”A man lived near a playground and was greatly disturbed by the noise of kids who came to play.
Whatever he did, he could not get rid of them. He threatened them, tried to make them go, screamed at them, begged them not to come, but nothing worked.
Then one day he came to the playground and gave each one 5€ and told them he would give them tomorrow the same amount if they came again. For a while, every day when the kids came, he would give them 5€.”
