The Millennials-Products of "Me" Centered Youth Sports?

I work for a large company in Dallas as an Organizational Development Specialist. Basically, my focus is to help businesses create high performance cultures. I want to share a topic that has the company I work for and many others taking notice. What does this topic have to do with youth sports you might ask? The topic of "Motivating the Next Generation" is of keen interest and has prompted many a conversation in company board rooms across the US. The newest group of young people coming into the work force are labeled "The Millenials" and their expectations of work environments are very high. They expect lots of praise and they do not appreciate being told they failed. Constructive feedback has to be offered very gently and if they don't feel they are being treated well, they will walk. This new group of workers are coming into the workforce believing they are great. Don't believe it, just call their Mom, the record will be set straight in a hurry! Researchers say that one of the contributing factors to this low tolerance for critical feedback is the experience this generation had in youth sports. They experienced a world where they got a trophy for showing up, they were praised to high heaven for everything they did and were told they could do anything. They are now entering the work world and finding that they have been sold a bill of goods. I'm interested in starting a thread of conversation about the long term effects of the "everyone is a winner" philosophy that has taken over our parenting as it pertains to youth sports now. Do we need to help our kids have a more realistic understanding of their true skill? Should we let our kids feel the sting of failure a little? Is it okay to blend the "needs improvement" conversation with the praise? To give you an additional view, here is a news clip from CBS news. It has been circulating in my work place and stirring up lots of great conversations! Watch the video and let's talk!http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3486473n