The Soccer Patch, Winnipeg, MB

Positive reinforcement is “catching” a child doing something you want them to do, and rewarding it. The child gets attention and reward as positive reinforcement for doing the right thing and will focus on repeating that behaviour.
So, for example, if you award a child a patch for providing an assist in a game or training session they will try to repeat the action because of the approval it attracts. Other players will also try to replicate the behaviour (the assist) because they want to be rewarded in a similar way.
Children really do want to be 'good' - you just need to make sure you reward them for being good. This could be a simple "well done", but a more tangible reward - a patch - works even better. Children can take soccer patches home, or to school, where they can show them to their friends and parents.
Positive reinforcement works because it gives children positive goals to work toward, instead of only focusing on negative consequences to avoid. Positive reinforcement fulfils strong basic psychological needs of every child.
It's worth remembering that positive reinforcement works best when it isn't a once-in-a-while thing. The more it happens, the more effective it is!
I tried some of the soccer incentive patches in 2006 with my U11 Girls team for the first time to see what would happen as we had gone through our whole regular season without a win and very few goals scored. The result was fantastic! The girls game play on the field changed to a whole team effort. They went from being last in the standings to serious championship contenders in the play-offs. I almost had to fight the girls off as they practically swarmed me after a game to see who was going to get a patch. I quickly realized that they're not only useful for soccer. These can be used for soccer, baseball, softball, t-ball, hockey, football, bowling, martial arts (karate, tae kwon do, etc), or any other activity. These patches really work and the kids love them!

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