Frequently Asked Questions about Our Patches "The patches are the absolute best motivational tool I have found" Chad, CA "I am so excited to have found you, I have been paying $1 a patch." April "Our PTA board loved your reward patches! I'll be calling next week to place an order of 4,000. We will use them to encourage the Honor Roll, Attendance, Character, Reading, Science, Math, Citizenship and the V patch will be a special reward given at the teacher's discretion to students whose improvement is considered a Victory. I've attached our plan so you can see what we are doing with the patches." Anita, PTA Board Member, TX Elementary School Note from SoccerHelp: We can set up billing accounts for schools and we qualify as a Sole Source Provider. Call 1-888-373-7745 for information or click here to send us an email) Patches Navigation Page 4-Step Plan for Successfully Motivating Players, Teams, Athletes and Students How Coaches and Teachers Use Our Patches to Motivate and Reward Achievements and Behavior How to Ask Parents to Help Pay for the Patches Do the motivational patches really work? YES, they do. We have sold about 5 million patches and the reactions and results are almost always the same - kids love them. I really don't know why, they just do. Below are some of the emails we've gotten from coaches. We have received over 400 Testimonials for our patches and encourage you to read some of them. Testimonials for our Motivational Patches
What Purposes Are the Motivational Patches Used for? Our patches have been used to motivate players, members, students and employees. They are used in any situation where you want to motivate, reward or build goodwill, and as awards and incentives. They have been bought by sports teams, clubs, schools, churches, PTAs, nonprofit groups, for mission trips, businesses, preschool, bands, sports academies, and many others. They have been used to motivate and reward practice, individual and team effort, performance, improvement, team work, behavior, a good attitude, attendance, to encourage good character, and to reward individual, team and group achievements. They have been used for soccer, baseball, basketball, football, band, academic achievement, attendance, following instructions by the teacher or coach, cheerleading, dance, swimming, roller girls, wrestling, martial arts, karate, lacrosse, rugby, bowling, hockey, to motivate employees, and many other sports and activities. Do you have to iron on the patches for them to work? NO, you don't have to iron them on. They still work even if you don't iron them on. Some leagues and clubs don't allow them to be ironed on a uniform. The patches work just as well if they are collected, or a hole punched in them and put on a chain which can be attached to a bag or backpack, or framed, or put on a banner or pennant. If you want to wear them but can't put them on a uniform, lots of teams iron them on a "Spirit Shirt" or on a "Practice Jersey".
Do parents help pay for them? YES, frequently. All you have to do is send them an email explaining how they can help the players have more fun and improve. You can paste some of the Testimonials below into the email. Many parents are glad to contribute if asked - not all, but many. However, when I was coaching I just bought them myself because they made it SO much easier for me and my team played so much better. But at that time there weren't any Testimonials because I didn't know of anyone else who had used them as part of a motivational program.
What ages do they work for? I know they have been used successfully from age 3 to High School, but I think they would work for adults too.
Are there other motivational uses for them? YES, many. All sports and any activity where you want to motivate or reward, including baseball, basketball, softball, hockey, martial arts, cheerleading, wrestling, bowling, etc. They have also been used by schools, PTAs AND soccer clubs to motivate and reward students for academic achievement, attendance, improvement, character and citizenship. Soccer Clubs have also used them to motivate conditioning and individual practice of foot skills.
Two suggestions From Coaches About Using the Patches: Coaches recommend NOT giving a MVP patch because that makes it seem that one player is more important than the others and can cause hard feelings. Coaches also recommend that in Recreational leagues you give every player who is at the game a patch so feelings aren't hurt. You might ask "What if the player didn't try?" Here is a way to handle that -- you could give a black soccer ball patch to the kids that don't earn any other type of patch. There are many different kinds of patches and some are cooler than others. That allows you to designate special patch for specific actions. For example - a lightning bolt for hustle, a "C" for courage, D for Defense, A for Attitude, etc. ONLY give those if they are earned. That does NOT mean you have to give every kid an attendance patch for just showing up for the game, you would only give that to kids who didn't earn a patch for improvement, effort or attitude. If your players, members, or students could benefit from motivation to practice, to do their best, to do homework, improve their attitude, or anything, read the testimonials below or click this link Testimonials for our Motivational Patches The patches are the absolute best motivational tool I have found in seven years of coaching three daughters. I currently coach a U12 Girls team in the toughest division of our league. ---Coach Chad, CA, USA
The STAR patches are a great idea, I use them for my 9-10 year-old little league team. Gold for making every practice, Red for game achievements, Blue for sportsmanship and attitude. I am pleased to say that last night every boy earned a blue star in a 1-0 victory. THANKS!!! ---Thomas, CT USA
Our school used the patches last year for reward incentives and they were a big hit. We ran out twice, so we decided to buy 3,000 this time around. Our purchasing office will be in touch with you soon. ---Christi, California Elementary School
"I'm so excited to have found you, I've been paying $1 a patch, so this will save me lots of money. Thank you once again." ---Coach April, USA
The kids absolutely love the patches. ---Amy, league administrator, New York
"I can't tell you how many smiles these patches put on so many faces each week!" ---Coach Tammy, USA
We used the patches this season and it is the first time I have seen my 8 year old son start to shine and become a leader on the team. ---Micah
Thank you so much for your prompt attention to my order. The patches are wonderful and the girls on my junior high team are so excited. We had camp last week and only one girl from the team did not earn a perfect attendance patch - unlike last year when I had an average of four or five missing. ---Coach Joan, Pennsylvania
Just wanted to let you know that the motivational patches program that we have introduced to our team this year is amazing!! The kids love them. The last few years the kids have been playing for the Trophy at the end of the year. We never liked the end of year trophy as the only incentive -- we encouraged week-to-week game-to-game progression and teamwork. With the Patch System that we implemented, and with suggestions from other coaches on your website, the kids play for each game and practice for each practice. Nobody has even mentioned the word trophy so far this season! They want Victory/Practice/Goal/Improvement/Assist/MVP patches!! They want to work together, have fun, get patches and win! Isn’t that what sports are suppose to be!! Nice work. You have a customer for life. Our sponsors are more than happy to keep buying the patches as long as the kids keep giving it everything they got week in and week out!! ---Coach Robert, CA, USA
These patches have helped motivate the middle school team for juggling competitions and goals scored. They place them on their team bags and compete with each other. ---Coach Brooks, OH
I recently ran into a boy (now a young man) who I coached 9 years earlier when he was 13. He's now 22. He told me he still has his soccer jersey with the patches on it. He remembered the patches with a smile. It made me feel good that he had good memories. ---David at SoccerHelp
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