Trophies for Teens – Is There a Better Alternative?
Mites love medals and the faux-metal trophies, but even an 11-year-old Squirt can be a little jaded to enjoy a trophy. And teenagers won’t bother to hide the eye-rolling if you present them with bobble-head hockey player trophies. PeeWees, Bantams and Midgets, however, do admit to wanting a memento of the team and recognition from the coach at year end. How can you impress, rather than embarrass, a teen hockey player?
- Pucks with nicknames: If you’re under a time or money crunch, the easiest trophy is a puck emblazoned with a thoughtful nickname from the coach or coaches. If your association has pucks, spring for those. If not, you can print large mailing labels and trim them for the front of the puck. On the back, use a metallic Sharpie to write the player’s name, number and nickname: Little Big Man, Gentle Giant, The Bus, etc. Explain the nickname as you hand out the pucks.
- Logo hockey items: Work with your association’s embroidery person to get the players personalized skate towels, stick bags, garment bags for jerseys, backpacks or even full hockey bags. Include the logo; team name, level and year; and player name and number. These items are not only useful for hockey, but they help keep players keep track of their own stuff. Some of these things can get expensive, so check with the parents to see if they need them and if they can afford them.
- Logo clothing: Do teens ever have enough hoodies? No. A side benefit: Logo hockey items and clothing help market youth hockey in general and your association in particular.
- Picture gifts: You can slap a picture on just about anything these days. If you have a decent photographer on the team or pictures from a tournament, make sure you have one of each player and then order posters to frames, plaques, luggage tags or photo albums. For girls, try photo tote bags, key chains or charm bracelets (www.snapfish.com). A unique photo gift is a cut-out of the player on a photo wall decal, which can be stuck to a shower door, room door or any wall surface (www.jambellies.com or www.customsportsproducts.com).
Whatever type of “trophy” you choose, remember that encouraging words from the coaches about the player’s and team’s progress over the year mean more than anything.
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Kelly Kordes Anton for this article.
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Written by Kelly Anton · Filed Under Featured, Parenting
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