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Oct
03

Don’t Pout! The Selfish Athlete

Don’t Pout! The Selfish Athlete

“You can’t be a smart cookie with a crumbly attitude!”

Selfish athletes? Do you have them on your team? Do you have players who pout, complain, and disrupt your team dynamic? Unfortunately, there is always an athlete who is selfish and sadly, it causes a much bigger problem within the team than most care to give attention to. We have coaches who will tell the negative athletes to knock it off, be a team player, and just deal with it every practice and game instead of getting to the root of the problem, talking it out, defusing the problem, and laying down the rules of respect, team, and leadership.

If  we as coaches and parents allow an athlete to behave selfishly, than we are allowing them to hurt the team and the team’s success. We can’t just let it keep producing negativity on the team, we have to make sure that we are teaching our athletes not just the mechanics and fundamentals of the game, but the respect, diligence, and teamwork that holds great value within the sport.

  1. Realize the fault

We have to realize the faults on the team. See who, what, and why is being affected and causing a lack in the team dynamic, respect, and success. We have to take action and rid our team of the faults!

  1. Accept Accountability

Make sure not only YOU are accepting accountability to get rid of the problem, but that the athlete or athletes are also accepting accountability for their actions, behavior, and attitude that has caused problems among the team. If each of you are able to speak about the problem and come to a conclusion to work out the issues, and to get rid of the negative effects, than you will be cutting out the selfish acts and helping your team become stronger not only on the field, but also within their mental game.

Softball isn’t just a game and sport; it is a part of life that teaches us as coaches and parents lessons and gives us the ability to teach our young athletes life lessons that will help them on and off the field.

We have the opportunity to help our athletes become the best version of themselves, so let’s keep ourselves and our athletes accountable for their actions and attitudes as we all strive for the best success of our athletes in the sport and in life!

“Life teaches us through errors. When we accept the lesson from our mistake with humility and gratitude, we grow that much more.”

Written by Nikoli Sharp

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