This week, my son Bradley and his Levittown Red Devils teammates will gather for their postseason party. The event—a fun time for the players, coaches and parents—will  dot the I’s and cross the T’s on what was a tremendous 7-2 season for the boys that was capped by a dominating win in a bowl game. There will be dinner, a video recap of the season, and the presentation of trophies for all of the players.

The subject of participation trophies has been a big topic of conversation, not only in youth football but throughout all of youth sports. In fact, last year Steelers defensive linebacker James Harrison was very outspoken about how he was not in favor of participation trophies and made his kids give them back. 

If you were to poll coaches and parents, you would find valid opinions on both sides of the argument.

In a piece I wrote in this space last year to retort Harrison, I showed my support for participation trophies.

My feeling was that we’re talking about kids and if they work hard and show respect for the game, their parents, and the coaches all season long, they should be rewarded with a token of appreciation from the team and the program.

If the team is able to win a championship, then the accomplishments should be reflected on the trophies. However, I do think the kids deserve recognition of their efforts regardless.

Having said that, I can see the argument from those who do not believe in participation trophies.

There definitely comes a point, in my opinion, when you get middle school and then high school, when the participation trophies aren’t necessary. There does come a time when a young player has to learn the difference between winning and losing and that aspect of football really starts, in earnest, when you start playing for a school.

It’s also my belief that you can also reward a child for their work ethic and intangibles with a participation trophy. 

My solution to satisfy both arguments is to set up incentives before the season that would allow a child to “earn” that participation trophy. You could introduce requirements for attending practices and games. For example, a child has to be at 75 percent of practices and can miss no more than two games during the season. You could also set up behavioral requirements like paying attention in practice, working hard, and respecting the coaches and other members of the program.

Call me biased, but my son Bradley earned the trophy that he will receive next week. 

He missed one practice during training camp and that was when our family was on vacation and only missed one during the season because of a religious holiday. Bradley works hard in practice, listens to his coaches, and plays his heart out in games. In fact, he battled back from a broken wrist during the season and showed up for every practice while he was out to be with his teammates.

There are many other kids on his team that checked all the boxes this season to earn their trophies, but I’m proud of my son for his accomplishments, passion, and perseverance. He, like many of his teammates, should not have to apologize for walking up to the stage, shaking hands with the coaches and holding that trophy up high with a big smile on his face.

You shouldn’t just get a trophy because you’re parents filled out the registration form and wrote out a check.  A youth football player needs to earn that participation trophy with a strong work ethic and the respect for everyone in the program.

Peter Schwartz is an anchor and reporter for the CBS Sports Radio Network. He also writes a CBS New York sports blog at http://newyork.cbslocal.com/tag/peter-schwartz/. You can follow him on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. Peter’s son Bradley plays for the Levittown Red Devils of the Nassau Suffolk Football League on Long Island in New York. His son Jared cheers on Bradley and then Bradley returns the favor when Jared is playing soccer.