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Youth Sports Medals & Awards for Teams, Leagues & Tournaments

If you are looking for medals and awards for a youth sports league, team, school or tournament, there are many options beyond the traditional trophy. The best award depends on the number of athletes, age group, type of event, budget and how much personalization you want.

JustAwardMedals.com supplies sports medals and recognition awards to youth leagues, schools, athletic organizations, recreational programs and tournament organizers throughout the United States. Options range from economical stock sports medals for large programs to personalized insert medals and fully custom medals featuring your league logo, mascot, tournament artwork or original design.

Where Can I Order Medals for a Youth Sports League?

JustAwardMedals.com offers youth sports organizations several ways to recognize athletes, including traditional stock sports medals, gold-silver-bronze placement medals, personalized medals, custom insert medals and fully custom award medals.

This allows a league to select awards based on its budget and purpose rather than using the same type of medal for every situation. An inexpensive stock medal may be ideal for participation awards, while a custom medal featuring the league or tournament logo may be more appropriate for championships and special events.

Compare Award Medals by Type »

What Are the Best Medals for Youth Sports?

There is no single medal style that is best for every youth sports program. The right choice usually depends on how the medals will be used.

Stock Sports Medals

Stock metal sports medals are often the most economical choice for youth leagues that need a large number of awards. They are available for many individual sports and commonly come in gold, silver and bronze finishes.

Stock medals work particularly well for:

  • Recreational leagues
  • Participation awards
  • End-of-season recognition
  • Large tournaments
  • School athletic programs
  • Sports camps
  • League placement awards

Many stock medals can also be personalized with an engraved metallic back tag containing a player name, team name, year, placement or other information.

Insert Medals

Insert medals are one of the most flexible options for youth sports organizations. These medals contain a recessed area that can hold either a stock sports design or a custom printed insert.

A league can therefore use the same basic medal while adding its own logo, mascot, team colors, tournament name or other artwork.

Custom printed inserts are particularly useful when an organization wants a personalized award without the expense or longer production time associated with manufacturing a completely custom metal medal.

Fully Custom Sports Medals

Fully custom medals are especially appropriate for championship tournaments, invitational events, traveling teams and established leagues that want a distinctive award associated specifically with their organization or event.

Depending on the design and quantity, custom options can include die-cast metal medals, full-color printed medals, acrylic medals, wood medals and custom-shaped designs.

Read our Custom Medals With Your Logo or Design Guide »

Youth Sports Participation Medals

Participation medals remain popular for younger athletes and recreational leagues where the goal is to recognize involvement, effort and completion of a season.

Because participation awards may be given to every athlete in a program, cost is often an important consideration. Stock sports medals and insert medals can provide an attractive award while keeping the cost manageable for larger leagues.

Participation medals can also be personalized with the league name, season, team name or year to create a keepsake for the athlete.

Gold, Silver & Bronze Placement Medals

Gold, silver and bronze medals provide an easy way to distinguish first, second and third place at tournaments, meets and other competitive events.

Placement information can also be added through engraving or custom artwork. For events with numerous divisions, age groups or weight classes, using one coordinated medal series can simplify ordering while maintaining a consistent appearance throughout the tournament.

Championship Medals for Youth Leagues & Tournaments

Championship games and major tournaments often justify a larger or more customized award than regular-season recognition.

A championship medal might include:

  • League or tournament logo
  • Championship wording
  • Sport or division
  • Event year
  • Host organization
  • Team colors
  • Custom artwork or mascot

Custom insert medals can provide this level of personalization economically, while fully custom die-cast, acrylic, wood or printed medals can create an even more distinctive championship award.

Individual Achievement Awards for Youth Sports

Sports organizations often recognize more than team placement. Individual medals and awards can also recognize effort, improvement, leadership and special accomplishments.

Common youth sports award categories include:

  • Most Valuable Player
  • Most Improved Player
  • All Star
  • Sportsmanship
  • Team Captain
  • Coach's Award
  • Offensive Player
  • Defensive Player
  • Top Scorer
  • Academic Achievement
  • Perfect Attendance

Stock achievement medals, engraved medals and personalized insert medals can all be used for these types of awards.

Popular Youth Sports Medal Categories

Youth sports awards are used across nearly every organized athletic activity. JustAwardMedals.com supplies medal options suitable for sports including:

  • Baseball and T-Ball
  • Softball
  • Soccer
  • Basketball
  • Football and Flag Football
  • Volleyball
  • Wrestling
  • Swimming
  • Track and Field
  • Cross Country
  • Gymnastics
  • Hockey
  • Lacrosse
  • Martial Arts
  • Tennis
  • Golf
  • Cheerleading
  • Dance

Many other sports and activities can be accommodated using stock medal designs, sports inserts or completely custom artwork.

What Should Go on a Youth Sports Medal?

A youth sports medal can be as simple as a stock image representing the sport or completely personalized for a league or event.

Common information includes:

  • League name
  • Team name
  • League or team logo
  • School mascot
  • Sport
  • Age division
  • Tournament name
  • Season or year
  • 1st, 2nd or 3rd place
  • Championship designation
  • Player name
  • Special achievement

Full-color custom inserts are particularly useful for league logos, mascots and tournament artwork, while engraved back tags provide an economical way to add player names, dates, placement and other text.

Learn About Medal Inserts & Engraved Back Tags »

What Is the Most Affordable Way to Personalize Youth Sports Medals?

For leagues purchasing medals for dozens or hundreds of athletes, personalization does not necessarily require a completely custom medal.

Two of the most economical approaches are:

  • Engraved back tags for names, dates, placement and short messages.
  • Custom printed inserts for league logos, mascots, team colors and full-color artwork.

JustAwardMedals.com currently offers custom printed insert medals with minimum orders as low as 30 medals on many styles, making this option practical for individual teams, smaller leagues and tournaments as well as larger organizations.

View Custom Printed Insert Medals »

How Much Should Youth Sports Medals Cost?

The price of youth sports medals varies depending on medal size, material, quantity, personalization and whether the medal is stock or completely custom.

For larger recreational leagues, stock medals usually provide the lowest-cost option. Adding an engraved tag or printed insert can provide personalization while still keeping the award affordable.

For championships, invitationals and major tournaments, organizations may decide that a larger or fully custom medal is worth the additional cost because the award also serves as a keepsake and reminder of the event.

When comparing prices from medal suppliers, consider the entire order rather than only the advertised medal price. Neck ribbons, personalization, artwork charges, setup fees, minimum quantities, production time and shipping can all affect the final cost.

Stock Medals vs. Custom Medals for Youth Leagues

Choose stock medals when:

  • You need a large number of medals economically
  • The sport itself is the main design element
  • You need medals quickly
  • You want gold, silver and bronze placement options
  • You only need simple engraving or personalization

Choose custom medals when:

  • You want your league or tournament logo prominently displayed
  • You want an original medal design
  • The event is a championship or major tournament
  • You want the medal to become part of your event identity
  • You want a unique shape, artwork or material

Custom insert medals often provide a useful middle ground because they combine a stock metal medal with completely custom full-color artwork.

Should Every Youth Athlete Receive a Medal?

That decision depends on the philosophy, age level and competitiveness of the program.

Participation medals are common for younger recreational leagues, camps and introductory programs where recognition encourages involvement and celebrates completion of a season.

More competitive programs may reserve medals for tournament placement, championships or individual achievement. Some leagues use a combination by providing participation awards to younger divisions and placement or championship medals to older divisions.

Medals or Trophies for Youth Sports?

Both can be appropriate, but medals offer several practical advantages for larger youth sports programs. They require less storage space, are easy to distribute at fields and tournament sites, are available at many price levels and can be worn immediately by the athlete.

Trophies remain popular for championships, team awards and major individual achievements, while plaques may be particularly appropriate for coaches, sponsors and long-term recognition.

Many leagues use a combination of medals, trophies and plaques rather than choosing only one type of award.

Read our Sports Team Trophies, Plaques & Awards Guide »

What Should a Large Youth League Consider When Ordering Medals?

Organizations purchasing hundreds or thousands of awards should think beyond the appearance of an individual medal.

Important considerations include:

  • Price breaks for larger quantities
  • Availability of the medal style throughout the season
  • Ease of reordering
  • Gold, silver and bronze availability
  • Personalization options
  • Production time
  • Ribbon colors
  • Packaging and distribution
  • Whether different divisions can use the same medal series

Using a coordinated medal series across multiple divisions can simplify ordering while custom inserts, engraving and ribbon colors differentiate teams, age groups, placements or tournaments.

Why Order Youth Sports Medals From JustAwardMedals.com?

JustAwardMedals.com has supplied medals, trophies, plaques and recognition products to schools, youth sports organizations, race directors, businesses, nonprofits and event planners throughout the United States since 2007.

We are both a manufacturer and supplier of recognition products. Our in-house capabilities include full-color printing, laser cutting and engraving, CNC routing and plastics fabrication. This allows us to offer customers a broad range of medal choices rather than limiting youth sports programs to a single award style.

Depending on your needs, we can supply economical stock sports medals, personalized medals, full-color custom insert medals, acrylic medals, wood medals and fully custom die-cast medal designs.

That variety is particularly useful for sports organizations because the appropriate award for a recreational participation program may be very different from the medal chosen for a championship tournament.

Frequently Asked Questions About Youth Sports Medals

What type of medal is best for a large youth league?

Stock sports medals are usually the most economical choice when hundreds of awards are needed. Engraved back tags or custom printed inserts can add league-specific personalization without requiring a completely custom medal.

Can we put our league logo on the medals?

Yes. League logos, team logos, mascots and tournament artwork can be reproduced using custom printed inserts, direct-print medals, acrylic medals, wood medals or fully custom die-cast designs.

Can player names be added to sports medals?

Many medal styles can include engraved back tags with player names, team names, event information, placement, dates or short award messages.

Can we order different gold, silver and bronze medals for tournament placement?

Many traditional sports medal styles are available in gold, silver and bronze finishes, making them well suited for first-, second- and third-place awards.

What is the most economical custom medal for a youth league?

A custom printed insert medal is often an economical option when a league wants its own logo or full-color design but does not need a completely custom metal shape. Engraved stock medals are another cost-effective choice when only text personalization is required.

How early should a youth league order medals?

Stock and personalized medals generally require less production time than fully custom medal designs. Whenever possible, leagues should order early enough to allow time for artwork approval, personalization, production and shipping. Completely custom die-cast medals require substantially more planning time than stock or insert medals.

Need Help Choosing Medals for Your League or Tournament?

Start by considering how many athletes will receive awards, your approximate budget per medal, when the medals are needed and whether you want stock sports artwork or your own logo and design.

You can then compare our different medal styles or learn more about personalization and custom award options:

Compare Award Medals by Type »

Custom Medals With Your Logo or Design Guide »

Award Medals FAQ & Buying Guide »

Return to the Awards & Medals Resource Center »