Is it becoming more difficult these days to find the right player for your program? In today's world, we find a tremendous amount of pressure put on coaches and players to make a difficult and important decision at such an early stage in their development as potential student-athletes. It is not common to see Division I coaches observing a group of 8 graders and trying to project who will be the next superstar! Many coaches today have experienced a string of disappointments with their recruits (such as poor performance, attitude problems and personality conflicts) because they failed to find the right personality fit for their program and team.
If you are like every other coach out there that are putting together a team, whether it be a travel team, high school or college team, you spend a lot of time evaluating the talent level of individuals, spend time getting to know them as an athlete, build a personal relationship and get them to commit to your program believing that they are going to work out to be the difference maker your program needs. Then for some reason, they don't turn out quite like you thought they would on or off the competitive field. It has been an honor for me to be around some of the greatest young ladies in the world over the past 30+ years and I begin to wonder what is so different today. Title IX was a huge step in the right direction that has given today's athletes a great opportunity to receive resources that were not available to young women when I first came into the sport. There was a time when players competed in this game because they just loved to play the game and they did not mind working hard to improve their skills. The most important characteristic of these players was they never felt entitled to anything other than an opportunity to be a member of a team and play a sport they truly loved. When entitlement outweighs how much they care about the game, the opportunity to wear the colors, and being a productive member of a team, we will never maximize the true benefits of being an athlete.
It becomes hard to overlook talent in a game that is based on performance, but talent alone can be a perfect storm for disaster. You can never go wrong with people that have high character, strong desire to succeed, and that make good choices in life. When choosing your team, friends, or associates - dig deeper than talent and make sure they are people of high character and values. Getting the right fit will always bring back the "love for the game" - win, lose or draw!
If you are like every other coach out there that are putting together a team, whether it be a travel team, high school or college team, you spend a lot of time evaluating the talent level of individuals, spend time getting to know them as an athlete, build a personal relationship and get them to commit to your program believing that they are going to work out to be the difference maker your program needs. Then for some reason, they don't turn out quite like you thought they would on or off the competitive field. It has been an honor for me to be around some of the greatest young ladies in the world over the past 30+ years and I begin to wonder what is so different today. Title IX was a huge step in the right direction that has given today's athletes a great opportunity to receive resources that were not available to young women when I first came into the sport. There was a time when players competed in this game because they just loved to play the game and they did not mind working hard to improve their skills. The most important characteristic of these players was they never felt entitled to anything other than an opportunity to be a member of a team and play a sport they truly loved. When entitlement outweighs how much they care about the game, the opportunity to wear the colors, and being a productive member of a team, we will never maximize the true benefits of being an athlete.
It becomes hard to overlook talent in a game that is based on performance, but talent alone can be a perfect storm for disaster. You can never go wrong with people that have high character, strong desire to succeed, and that make good choices in life. When choosing your team, friends, or associates - dig deeper than talent and make sure they are people of high character and values. Getting the right fit will always bring back the "love for the game" - win, lose or draw!
Until next month,
Coach Candrea