Thank you for your comments Judy.  In many ways I agree with you, as I commented above.  Helping kids deal with failure is difficult and time consuming.  It is definitely easier for some parents to just do for their kids and easier for sports programs to reward everyone rather than rewarding only a few.  Just as kids are allowed to take the easy route, so too are these parents and groups.  It's hard for me to blame this generation for the sense of entitlement that they sometimes display.  They are a product of their upbringing in many ways, just as I am.  You have stumbled into one of the reasons why I am so passionate about teaching leadership in my school.  It is the process of providing genunine opportunities for responsibility and leadership as well as failure that have me working hard.  If the task is genuinely difficult and worth doing, there is usually failure, learning, and eventually success.

I value your insights.

Deb