Whether you are working with a small team of juniors or a seasoned group of adults, you can’t underestimate the impact and the importance of a medal or trophy. Any sports club should have them, and one core reason can explain why, people love earning medals.
Of course, the adage about sports not being about winning is still completely true – but celebrating and praising your team could still make a huge difference in the run-up to your next tournament.
They Provide Excellent Motivation
First and foremost, a medal is something to work towards. The thrill of progression is implicit in every single corporate workplace and sporting team – from the team moving up a division in their football league to an office promotion, people enjoy feeling like they are getting somewhere with what they are doing.
It is not only an incentive to win, but one to get better and constantly improve. Even within your team, it might promote healthy competition if there are medals up for grabs – they will grow as a club if they are given an extra reason to keep pace with one another. A team that is vying for a medal (if they know it or not) will put more work in to win it.
They Can Help To Recognise Individual Achievements
A medal does not have to be for a grand victory or even a top scorer, there is plenty to celebrate in the club. Of course, every team has its star players, and that is not to say the others are bad or any less talented – but it still could be quite demoralising if a select few seem almost destined to acquire all of the medals.
To avoid this, you could devise medals for many occasions that are fairer to the whole team, like one for whoever improves the most over time. There are many ways you can ensure that everyone is celebrated without resorting to passing them out to everyone, though if your team wins a big game, they might all be deserving of a medal.
They Provide a Positive Environment
Taking the above into account, it is clear that medals and other awards go quite a way towards making a team feel like they are being rewarded for their commitment and dedication. It shows that if they can improve, either through sheer skill or developing their technique, they can and will succeed.
This does wonders for the environment that you’re working in as it makes every team member feel valued and like they are on an equal playing field – in many cases they already are, but it’s important to make that clear.
Medals are a wonderful way to reward and celebrate your club. At NQ Plaques and Trophies, we have spent over twenty years supplying our bespoke awards to the whole of Australia. If you would like to commission a medal or trophy for your team, then send us a message, and we will be happy to help.
