Building a Sportsmanship Award Into Your Program: Create Recognition That Reinforces Team Values
Your end-of-season banquet approaches. You will award MVP, Most Improved, Best Offensive Player, Best Defensive Player. These awards recognize performance. Statistics determine winners. Athletes know who will win before you announce names.
Then comes the sportsmanship award. Sometimes you call it the Character Award or Team Spirit Award. You give it to a nice kid who tried hard but was not good enough to win performance awards. Everyone knows this athlete got the consolation prize. The award means nothing.
It does not have to be this way. A well-designed sportsmanship award can become the most meaningful recognition in your program. It can reinforce the values you want athletes to internalize. It can make character as important as performance in your team culture.
This guide shows you how to create sportsmanship recognition that athletes genuinely value, that reflects your actual program priorities, and that shapes team culture rather than just decorating a banquet.
Why Most Sportsmanship Awards Fail
Before building effective sportsmanship recognition, understand why typical approaches fall flat.
Problem One: Vague criteria. "Good sportsmanship" means everything and nothing. Athletes do not know what wins the award. You do not have clear standards for selection. The award goes to whoever you remember being nice.
Problem Two: Consolation prize reputation. When sportsmanship awards consistently go to athletes who did not excel athletically, the award signals "you were not good enough to win a real award." This undermines the entire purpose.
Problem Three: Single winner limitation. Only recognizing one athlete for sportsmanship all season suggests sportsmanship is exceptional rather than expected. This creates competition for character recognition instead of encouraging character development.
Problem Four: End-of-season only timing. Waiting until the banquet to recognize character means athletes get no reinforcement during the season when character development actually happens. Recognition months after behavior has minimal impact.
Problem Five: No connection to daily coaching. You preach character during practice but only reward performance. Athletes learn that you do not mean what you say about values mattering.
Effective sportsmanship awards address all five problems through intentional design.
The Foundation: Define What You Actually Value
Before creating any award, clarify what sportsmanship means for your program specifically.
Value Definition Exercise:
Complete these statements for your program:
Sportsmanship in our program means:
1. [Specific behavior observable during competition]
2. [Specific behavior observable in practice]
3. [Specific behavior observable with teammates]
4. [Specific behavior observable with opponents]
5. [Specific behavior observable in difficult situations]
An athlete demonstrates exceptional character when they:
1. [Observable action, not vague quality]
2. [Observable action, not vague quality]
3. [Observable action, not vague quality]
Example Completed Definition - Basketball Program:
Sportsmanship in our program means:
1. Helping opponents up after hard fouls without being told
2. Encouraging teammates who make mistakes instead of showing frustration
3. Accepting coaching corrections without defensiveness or excuses
4. Maintaining composure when officials make calls you disagree with
5. Supporting teammates from the bench with same energy as when playing
An athlete demonstrates exceptional character when they:
1. Sacrifice personal statistics to run plays that help teammates succeed
2. Stay after practice to work with struggling players without being asked
3. Take responsibility for mistakes publicly rather than blaming others
Notice how specific these definitions are. Not "be a good person." Concrete behaviors you can observe, document, and use as award criteria.
Award Design One: The Season-Long Recognition System
Replace single end-of-season award with ongoing recognition throughout the season.
How It Works:
Frequency: Recognize sportsmanship weekly or bi-weekly during the season.
Selection: Different athlete each time based on specific observed behaviors from that week.
Recognition: Brief announcement at practice with specific description of what the athlete did.
Documentation: Keep list of all weekly recipients and their recognition reasons.
End-of-season: Athlete with most weekly recognitions earns season award, or all weekly recipients honored at banquet.
Why This Design Works:
- Multiple athletes receive recognition, not just one
- Immediate recognition reinforces behavior while fresh
- Specific descriptions teach what sportsmanship looks like
- Athletes see character valued consistently, not just at banquet
- Creates documentation useful for recommendation letters
- Removes consolation prize reputation through frequency and specificity
Sample Weekly Recognition Announcement:
"Before we start practice, this week's sportsmanship recognition goes to Maria. On Tuesday, when we played that close game against Central, Maria stayed on the field for twenty minutes after we lost helping the Central players practice corner kicks. She noticed they were struggling with technique and offered to help even though we had just lost to them. That's character - helping opponents grow even when it doesn't benefit you. Nice work, Maria."
Award Design Two: The Peer-Selected Character Award
Athletes choose recipients based on who embodies program values from their perspective.
How It Works:
Timing: Mid-season and end-of-season voting.
Ballot: Athletes write names of 2-3 teammates who best demonstrated specific character qualities. Must provide brief example of behavior they observed.
Categories: Break into specific awards rather than single general sportsmanship award. Best Teammate, Most Encouraging, Character Under Pressure, etc.
Selection: Tally votes. Coach reviews to ensure examples support nominations.
Recognition: Announce winners at team meeting. Share specific examples from peer ballots.
Sample Peer Ballot:
Best Teammate Award:
I nominate: ________________
Example of when they demonstrated being an excellent teammate:
_________________________________
_________________________________
Most Encouraging Award:
I nominate: ________________
Specific situation where their encouragement made a difference:
_________________________________
_________________________________
Why This Design Works:
- Peer recognition carries more weight than coach recognition for many athletes
- Athletes notice teammate character moments coaches sometimes miss
- Requiring examples ensures voting based on behavior, not popularity
- Multiple category awards create recognition opportunities across different strengths
- Voting process prompts reflection on character across entire team
- Peer examples provide excellent recommendation letter material
The Anonymous Option
Make ballots anonymous to reduce social pressure. Athletes may nominate more honestly when votes are private. As coach, you still see who nominated whom, providing insight into team dynamics and who notices character in others.
Award Design Three: The Cumulative Point System
Athletes earn points throughout season for specific character behaviors you observe and document.
How It Works:
Point assignments: Create list of specific behaviors worth points. More points for more significant character demonstrations.
Documentation: You note when athletes demonstrate these behaviors during season using your character catch system or coaching journal.
Transparency: Athletes know the point system exists and general categories but not their specific point totals until season end.
Recognition: Announce top point earners at banquet with specific examples of moments that earned points.
Sample Point System:
Helping opponent during or after competition: 5 points
Encouraging teammate who made costly mistake: 3 points
Staying after practice to help others improve: 3 points
Maintaining composure after controversial call: 3 points
Taking responsibility for mistake publicly: 4 points
Including or supporting isolated teammate: 4 points
Demonstrating leadership without being asked: 4 points
Sacrificing personal success for team benefit: 5 points
Representing program positively off-field/court: 3 points
Demonstrating growth from character challenge: 5 points
Why This Design Works:
- Objective system reduces perception of favoritism
- Specific point assignments clarify what behaviors you value most
- Season-long accumulation rewards consistency over single moments
- Documentation requirement forces you to notice and record character moments
- Point tracking creates recommendation letter content automatically
- Athletes can win through different paths - many behaviors earn points
Implementation Warning:
Do not share running point totals during season. This creates unhealthy competition for character recognition. Athletes should demonstrate character because they value it, not to earn points. Share system in general terms, document consistently, reveal results only at season end.
Award Design Four: The Growth-Focused Award
Recognizes athletes who demonstrated significant character development regardless of starting point.
How It Works:
Documentation: Note character challenges athletes face early in season.
Observation: Track how athletes respond to character difficulties across season.
Assessment: Compare early-season character moments to late-season character moments.
Selection: Award goes to athlete who showed most significant positive character growth from beginning to end of season.
Recognition: Describe the growth arc - where they started, the challenge they faced, how they worked to improve, where they ended up.
Sample Growth Award Recognition:
"This year's Character Growth Award goes to Jason. At season start, Jason struggled with composure. When frustrated, he showed visible anger that affected team morale. In October, after a particularly difficult practice, Jason and I had a conversation about this pattern. Rather than getting defensive, he acknowledged the issue and asked for help addressing it. Over the next three months, I watched Jason develop strategies for managing frustration. By season end, during our most pressure-filled playoff game, Jason maintained composure through multiple difficult moments and even helped calm down frustrated teammates. That growth from recognizing a problem to actively improving it demonstrates real character development."
Why This Design Works:
- Recognizes effort and development, not just natural temperament
- Shows athletes that character challenges are opportunities for growth, not permanent flaws
- Models vulnerability and improvement as strengths, not weaknesses
- Honors athletes who may have struggled but improved significantly
- Demonstrates coaching investment in character development beyond just performance
- Creates powerful stories for recommendation letters showing maturity and coachability
Creating Multiple Character Awards
Instead of one generic sportsmanship award, create several specific character awards.
Character Award Categories:
The Teammate Award: Athlete who most consistently supported, encouraged, and elevated teammates.
The Integrity Award: Athlete who demonstrated honesty and ethics even when difficult or costly.
The Perseverance Award: Athlete who maintained effort and positive attitude through adversity.
The Leadership Award: Athlete who influenced team culture positively through action, not just position.
The Sportsmanship Award: Athlete who best represented program values in competition with opponents.
The Growth Award: Athlete who showed most significant character development across season.
The Servant Award: Athlete who contributed to team success in ways that went unrecognized publicly.
The Courage Award: Athlete who took risks, faced fears, or stood up for what was right despite difficulty.
Multiple specific awards accomplish several goals. More athletes receive character recognition. Different character strengths get valued rather than assuming all character looks identical. Athletes can identify which character areas they want to develop. Awards feel less like consolation prizes when categories are specific and valued.
Selection Process: Making It Fair and Meaningful
Who selects award winners matters as much as award criteria.
Option One: Coach Selection
How: You choose based on observations documented throughout season.
Advantages: You see moments teammates miss. You can ensure recognition spreads across team rather than concentrating on popular athletes. You can recognize growth teammates may not notice.
Disadvantages: May miss behind-the-scenes character moments. Athletes may perceive favoritism. Less peer validation.
Best for: Growth awards, specific documented behavior awards, younger teams.
Option Two: Peer Selection
How: Team votes using structured ballots requiring examples.
Advantages: Teammates see character moments you miss. Peer recognition often more meaningful to athletes. Reduces perception of coach favoritism.
Disadvantages: Popularity can influence voting. Athletes may not recognize growth or behind-the-scenes contribution.
Best for: Teammate awards, leadership awards, older teams with mature members.
Option Three: Combined Selection
How: Athletes nominate 3-5 finalists through peer voting. You select final winner from finalists based on your additional observations.
Advantages: Combines peer validation with coach oversight. Ensures both teammate perspective and coach observation inform decision.
Disadvantages: More complex process. Takes more time.
Best for: Major end-of-season awards, programs wanting both peer input and coach perspective.
Option Four: Captains Council
How: Team captains meet with you to review character moments from season and collectively select award recipients.
Advantages: Develops captain leadership. Provides teaching moment about evaluating character. Combines multiple perspectives.
Disadvantages: Limited to captain perspective. Can create uncomfortable dynamics if captains disagree.
Best for: Programs with strong captain structure, teaching leadership to captains.
Recognition Format: Making Awards Memorable
How you present character awards affects their perceived value.
Effective Recognition Elements:
- Specific story: Describe exact moment or pattern that earned the award. Generic praise is forgettable. Specific stories are memorable.
- Why it matters: Connect the behavior to program values. Explain what this teaches others.
- Peer or parent testimony: Include brief statement from teammate or parent about recipient's character impact.
- Physical award: Trophy, plaque, or certificate of equal quality to performance awards. Character awards deserve equal physical recognition.
- Public announcement: Recognize at same event and with same ceremony as performance awards. Placement matters - do not save character awards for end as afterthought.
- Photo: Take photo with award. Post in locker room alongside performance achievement photos. Visible character recognition reinforces its importance.
Sample Award Presentation:
"Our Teammate Award recognizes the athlete who most consistently elevated others this season. This year's recipient, Sarah, demonstrated this quality in countless ways. In practices, she stayed late helping younger players develop skills without being asked. During games, she celebrated teammate successes as enthusiastically as her own. After our toughest loss, when team morale was lowest, Sarah organized a team dinner at her house that brought everyone back together. Her teammate Emma told me, 'Sarah makes everyone feel like they matter to this team, whether they play two minutes or forty minutes.' That's the kind of teammate that makes programs successful. Sarah, your character has shaped our team culture this season. Thank you."
Building Awards Into Season Rhythm
Character awards work best as part of comprehensive recognition system, not isolated gesture.
Season-Long Recognition Timeline:
Pre-Season: Define character values and award criteria with team input. Explain how character recognition works in your program.
During Season: Weekly or bi-weekly character recognition at practice. Document character moments consistently. Conduct mid-season peer voting for character awards if using peer selection.
Late Season: Final peer voting or captain council meetings to select end-of-season award recipients. Review documentation to ensure selection aligns with criteria.
End-of-Season Banquet: Present character awards with equal prominence as performance awards. Share specific stories. Recognize all weekly recipients if using season-long system.
Off-Season: Include character award winners in program publicity. Reference awards in scholarship recommendations. Use recognition as recruiting tool showing program values.
Connecting Awards to Scholarship Opportunities
Character awards create documentation that strengthens scholarship applications.
In recommendation letters: Character award selection provides specific examples and external validation. "Maria received our program's Teammate Award based on peer voting. Her teammates specifically cited her consistent encouragement and willingness to sacrifice personal success for team benefit."
On athlete resumes: Character awards demonstrate values beyond statistics. Many scholarships prioritize character, making these awards directly relevant.
In scholarship essays: Athletes can reference character recognition as evidence of values they claim to hold. Awards provide concrete examples rather than unsupported assertions.
For character-focused scholarships: Some scholarships specifically seek athletes demonstrating sportsmanship, integrity, or leadership. Program character awards directly align with these criteria.
When you document character consistently and recognize it formally through awards, you create scholarship application material athletes can leverage for years.
Common Mistakes When Implementing Character Awards
Mistake One: Creating Awards But Not Changing Culture
Adding character awards to banquet without changing daily coaching sends mixed messages. Awards work when they reflect what you actually emphasize in practices and games.
Solution: Implement weekly character recognition, regular character discussions, and consistent reinforcement of values before adding end-of-season awards. Awards should culminate culture-building, not substitute for it.
Mistake Two: Giving Character Awards Only to Low-Performing Athletes
When character awards consistently go to athletes who did not excel athletically, you communicate that character is consolation for lack of talent.
Solution: Ensure some character awards go to high-performing athletes too. Stars can demonstrate exceptional character. Recognize their character explicitly to show character matters regardless of talent level.
Mistake Three: Vague Award Criteria
Athletes cannot pursue unclear standards. "Good sportsmanship" provides no guidance about what behaviors you value.
Solution: Define specific observable behaviors for each character award. Share criteria with team at season start. Athletes should know exactly what character looks like in your program.
Mistake Four: Announcing Winners Without Stories
Reading names without explaining why they won teaches nothing. Other athletes do not learn what character looks like.
Solution: Every character award announcement should include specific story about what the recipient did. Stories teach. Names alone do not.
Mistake Five: Treating Character Awards as Less Important
Saving character awards for end of banquet, giving smaller trophies, or rushing through presentation signals character matters less than performance.
Solution: Present character awards with equal ceremony, equivalent physical awards, and same time investment as performance awards. Placement and presentation communicate importance.
Starting Your Character Award System This Season
Do not wait until next season. Start building character recognition now.
Implementation Timeline:
This Week:
☐ Complete value definition exercise for your program
☐ Choose one character award design to implement
☐ Announce to team how character recognition will work
Next Two Weeks:
☐ Begin documenting character moments you observe
☐ Conduct first weekly character recognition if using season-long system
☐ Create ballots if using peer selection system
By Month End:
☐ Weekly character recognition is routine
☐ You have documented 10+ character moments across roster
☐ Athletes understand character matters in your program
End of Season:
☐ Conduct final selection process for awards
☐ Prepare specific stories for award presentations
☐ Order physical awards equal in quality to performance awards
☐ Present character awards with prominence at banquet
Measuring Impact: How to Know It's Working
Character award systems succeed when they change culture, not just recognize individuals.
Immediate indicators: Athletes reference character recognition spontaneously. "I want to earn teammate award" or "Remember when Marcus won sportsmanship award for helping opponents?" Athletes start noticing and commenting on each other's character.
Behavioral changes: Increase in character moments you observe. Athletes explicitly trying to demonstrate program values. Peer accountability for character standards. Athletes defending program reputation through their behavior.
Recognition patterns: Character awards distributed across different athletes, not same individuals repeatedly. Both high and low performers receive character recognition. Athletes express pride in character awards equivalent to performance awards.
Long-term signs: Alumni return and mention character awards as memorable parts of their experience. Parents comment on character development they observe. Character award winners succeed in college athletics. Recommendation letters become easier to write because you have specific documented examples.
Cultural integration: Character recognition becomes "how we do things" rather than special program requiring active management. New athletes adopt character standards quickly because established athletes model them.
Build Recognition That Matters
Your program awards already recognize performance. Adding intentional character recognition signals that who athletes become matters as much as what they achieve. Well-designed character awards reinforce the values you coach daily.
Find additional resources for building program culture in the Scholarship Resource Hub, including character discussion guides and documentation strategies.
Start this week. Define your values. Choose an award design. Begin recognizing character intentionally. Your athletes will remember how you made them feel valued as people, not just players.
