Why hand out kids' sports award certificates at all? Awards are a tangible acknowledgement of a positive achievement and help the recipient look back on the events of the season with a sense of pride.
Acknowledging Effort on the Field
As a coach or convener of organized sports, you can provide the players with a document the participants can keep and look at long after the season is finished. Acknowledging the efforts that the players made during the season is an important part of helping them stay motivated.
Not every child who plays a sport is going to play at a competitive level. They may not have the athletic ability or be interested in that type of athletic pursuit. Encouraging participation and physical fitness is a better goal than simply printing off kids' sports award certificates for the top performers on a team or in a league.
Options for Kids' Sports Award Certificates
When you are considering handing out awards to children for their achievements on the playing field, there are a few different ways to do so. Before you make your final decision, you will need to consider the ages of the participants and whether you want to pay tribute to individual achievement or to everyone on the team.
Game Certificates
Handing out certificates after a game to acknowledge players who have done well on the field is a good choice if the participants are relatively young or are new to the game. Every time the team has a game, the players have the opportunity to do something noteworthy on the field.
It's a good idea to keep track of which players have received recognition for their efforts to make sure that all the players are recognized for something positive they have done during the season. The awards can be given out for achievement during the game, in recognition for the Most Valuable Player, or you can recognize the player who showed sportsmanlike conduct, the most enthusiasm, or something that isn't necessarily tied to athletic ability.
End of Season Achievements
With older players, you might want to wait until the end of the season to hand out awards acknowledging the players' achievements. Not only will you want to recognize the player (or players) who led in scoring and other tangible elements, but you will want to include everyone who contributed to the experience the team had during the season.
Team Awards
Another option you way want to consider when it comes to sports award certificates for kids is giving a single award to everyone on the team. That way, everyone's contributions are acknowledged together without focusing on the few players who excelled during the season. This is a better choice than giving some team members a certificate stating they participated during the season, while others are being recognized for more tangible achievements.
Where to Find Sports Award Certificates Online
Several online resources offer kids' sports certificates. Here are a few examples of what is available:
FreePrintableCertificates.com
FreePrintableCertificates.com has a selection of sports award certificates available for download. Choose from ones for participants in specific sports, including archery, ballet, baseball, basketball, wrestling and more. The site also includes awards for acknowledging first, second and third prize. Participation and Most Improved Player awards are also included.
123Certificates.com
The 123Certificates.com site has a number of printable sports certificates available. Visitors can choose from soccer, volleyball, martial arts, ice hockey, lacrosse, gymnastics and more.
Just click on the certificate you would like to use and fill out the handy online form to personalize it with the athlete's name, the name of the award, your name, a final thought and the date. You can even add a colored border to finish it off before printing.
PrintSportsAwards.com
The PrintSportsAwards.com website offers awards for a number of different sports. It also has certificates that can be used to recognize participants in several games, including pin the tail on the donkey, tag, marbles and hopscotch. Certificates that can be used at summer camps are posted on this site, too.
Recognition
Regardless of the type of award you give out and the number of awards you give your players over the course of the season, remember that the goal is to recognize achievement, in whatever form, which encourages your players to stay positive and enhances their sense of self-esteem.
