If you’ve ever attended a local youth football tournament, a small college conference championship, or even a weekend amateur league final, you’ve probably wandered back to the awards table after the final whistle. There, amid the trophy cases of polished metal and plastic, you might have noticed something different: a set of smooth, sanded wooden medals hanging from fabric ribbons. When I first started working as a wooden medal supplier 12 years ago, I’ll admit I assumed these pieces were a fleeting trend, a quirky alternative for niche events that didn’t want to splurge on traditional metal. Over the years, though, I’ve spoken with hundreds of tournament organizers, coaches, and even a few former professional players who’ve helped me realize that wooden medals aren’t some afterthought—they’re a purposeful choice gaining traction across football competitions at every level. Let’s break down why more events are ditching or supplementing metal for wood, how these medals hold up to the grind of football, and what makes them more than just a novelty. Wooden Medal
I got into the wooden medal business almost by accident. Back in 2011, a local rec league coordinator reached out to me because my small woodworking shop, which made custom cutting boards and picnic tables, could produce small, engraved wooden discs. The league had a tiny budget, and the metal medals they’d ordered from a big national supplier arrived with tarnished spots and cheap ribbons that frayed after two uses. They wanted something that felt more personal, less like a mass-produced giveaway, and didn’t require a huge investment. That first order for 80 wooden medals—engraved with the league logo in bold, black letters, strung on red and blue grosgrain ribbons—sold out so quickly that the next year three other local leagues reached out. At the time, I thought this was just a small-town anomaly, but as football’s conversation around sustainability started heating up in the mid-2010s, demand started to grow beyond local competitions.
Let’s start with the most common question: are wooden medals actually used in football competitions, or are they only for craft fairs and school art projects? The short answer is yes, they’re used everywhere from under-8 youth tournaments all the way up to semi-professional regional championships, even if they’re not as ubiquitous as metal medals yet. A quick scan of event listings on amateur sports platforms shows dozens of tournaments each month offering wooden medals for top performers; some reserve them for the winning team, others give them to every player on the podium. What surprises a lot of people is that wooden medals aren’t just for casual, low-stakes games. A small college conference in the Midwest switched to wooden medals for their 2022 football championship because their league had adopted a zero-waste policy, and metal medals—even those labeled “recyclable”—often end up in landfills because they’re too small to be sorted correctly. That same year, a semi-pro league in Texas swapped their plastic trophies for engraved oak wood medals to match their mission of supporting local, eco-friendly sports.
Of course, skeptics point out that football is a rough sport, so a wooden medal must be delicate, right? I used to worry about that too, until I started testing different wood types and finishes to withstand the chaos of post-game celebrations. Early on, I made medals out of pine, which is soft and easy to engrave, but pine dents too easily if it’s dropped on a football field, scuffed by cleats, or knocked into a goalpost during a celebration. After a few years of trial and error, I landed on using solid hardwoods like maple, birch, and cherry for the core of our medals. These woods are dense enough to resist dents when dropped, and their tight grain means engraving doesn’t chip or fade even after repeated handling. The finish is another key part—we use a food-grade, water-based polyurethane that’s scratch-resistant and waterproof, so a spilled Gatorade or a rain shower during the awards ceremony won’t leave a mark. I once saw a photo from a 2023 regional youth tournament where a wooden medal was dragged across the grass by a runner after a win; a quick wipe with a cloth and it looked good as new.
Beyond durability, the biggest driver of wooden medals’ rise in football is sustainability—and it’s not just a trend, it’s a priority for event organizers. For years, traditional metal medals have a hidden environmental cost. Most standard medals are made from zinc alloy plated with brass, silver, or gold, and mining for the metals uses large amounts of water and energy. Even “recycled” metal medals often end up in landfills because they’re too small to be sorted at recycling centers; a standard metal medal is only about two inches wide, too tiny to be caught by most sorting machinery, so they get mixed in with other waste and never recycled. A 2021 study from the Sports Sustainability Alliance found that amateur football events in the U.S. throw away over 1.2 million metal medals every year, most of which end up in landfills. Wooden medals, by contrast, are made from sustainably harvested wood (we source our maple from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures responsible harvesting practices) and are 100% biodegradable if they’re ever discarded. What’s more, many organizers like that wooden medals feel less like a disposable item and more like a keepsake. A metal medal might tarnish over time and end up in a junk drawer, but a well-made wooden medal can be polished up a few times a year and displayed on a shelf for decades. I still have the first medal I ever made, from that 2011 rec league, sitting on my desk, and it’s barely changed at all.
Another factor is customization, which is a huge selling point for football events. Football is a sport with a lot of unique details—team mascots, league nicknames, specific tournament themes—and wooden medals are perfect for highlighting those. Unlike metal medals, which have fixed dies that are expensive to create for small orders, wooden medals can be engraved with almost any design, no minimum order required. We’ve made medals with laser-engraved team mascots, custom league logos, even small depictions of the final play of the championship game for the winning team. Last year, a high school state championship tournament ordered medals that included the player’s number next to their name, so every medal was unique for each athlete. That kind of personalization is almost impossible to do with metal medals for a reasonable price, especially for smaller events with tight budgets.
Of course, wooden medals aren’t for every football event. If you’re a professional league with a massive TV deal and a tradition of giving gold and silver medals, switching to wood would feel like a break from history. But even pro events are starting to experiment with wooden medals for secondary awards, like “Sportsmanship Player of the Year” or “Most Improved Offensive Lineman.” What’s more, many coaches and players say that wooden medals feel more meaningful because they’re not the same mass-produced item every event uses. I talked to a former semi-pro quarterback last year who now coaches a local 12U football team, and he told me that when he won his league’s championship 20 years ago, his metal medal rusted and fell apart a few months later. When his team got wooden medals last season, every kid brought theirs home and showed them to their parents, something he’d never seen with the old metal ones. He said it made the win feel more special, less like just another game.
There are still common misconceptions out there, and I try to address them every time someone reaches out. Some people think wooden medals are more expensive than metal ones, but that’s often not the case. Because we don’t have to pay for expensive metal plating or shipping bulky metal products, our wooden medals are actually comparable in price to standard metal medals, and many organizers save money because they don’t have to replace damaged medals every year. Others worry that wooden medals look cheap, but when they’re made with solid hardwood, a clear finish, and a clean engraving, they have a warm, polished look that stands out even next to shiny metal. I’ve had tournament organizers tell me that when they first ordered wooden medals, their players and parents initially thought they were underwhelmed—until they held them and realized how well-made they are.
Looking ahead, I think wooden medals will only become more common in football competitions. More and more athletes and organizers are prioritizing sustainability, and the ability to customize keepsake items is something metal suppliers are starting to catch up on, but wood has a unique charm that can’t be replicated. As someone who’s been making these medals for over a decade, I’ve seen little kids hold their first medal with wide eyes, high school seniors hold a medal as a reminder of their final season, and semi-pro players keep their medals in lockers for years. They’re not just pieces of wood or metal—they’re memories, marking the hard work, teamwork, and joy that makes football so special.
If you’re organizing a football competition, whether it’s a local youth league, a college conference, or a semi-pro championship, and you’re looking for a meaningful, sustainable, and affordable award option, we offer custom wooden medals tailored to your event’s needs. Whether you need medals for every player on the podium, just the top three, or secondary awards like sportsmanship or most valuable player, we can work with you to create a design that reflects your team’s identity. If you’d like to discuss how wooden medals can fit your competition’s budget and goals, feel free to reach out to connect for procurement and customization.
Glass Trophy References:
- Sports Sustainability Alliance. (2021). Annual Report on Waste in Amateur Sports Awards.
- Forest Stewardship Council. (2023). Sustainable Wood Sourcing Standards for Sports Products.
- National Youth Sports Coaches Association. (2022). Trends in Youth Sports Award Preferences.
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