Athletes in today’s sports are very soft. Soft in the sense that they are mentally weak and cannot handle adversity. In fact, there are instances of coaches who have been fired for yelling at a kid the wrong way or hurting his feelings. Young athletes have a sense of entitlement; they expect the coaches to earn the respect of the athletes rather than the athletes automatically submitting respect to their coaches.
When I was a young athlete I was yelled and cussed at all the time, but at the same time I was praised when I did something good on the field. I responded to both positively. Why is it that athletes can do something wrong on or off the field without any sort of punishment? There should be consequences for players that don’t do what they are coached or expected to do. As a coach I have witnessed firsthand the positive effect of ‘chewing out’ an athlete for doing something wrong. A lot of times we do it to create adversity in a controlled setting so in a game or life situation they are able to overcome it.
The problem with America, and the world, is that people think they are owed something and feel they should be given everything. This sense of entitlement carries over to the sports world. Today’s kids feel like they shouldn’t have to practice hard or listen to their coach. Deep down kids want men (coaches) to give them discipline. I think most people would agree that sports just 15 years ago was better than it is today because coaches demanded respect instead of trying to earn it. We need to train our kids and athletes that respect should be given to everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment