Mentality 2008

[wallpaper]

:roll: Big Gamer,

As the saying goes, "Until you walk in their shoes!" Don't rip on coaches if you've never been there!

[4him]

I hear the biased, political coach thing all the time, but I have never met one of these coaches. I never played/wrestled for one, talked to one, or witnessed one. Now maybe I have just been oblivious or maybe that is just an excuse that lazy athletes use. My younger half brother and my mother claim that my little brother can't make his HS baseball team because he doesn't have the right last name. And I always tell him, "If you work hard and make yourself good enough, they won't be able to ignore you." I have witnessed coaches favoring one athlete over another for some poor reasons, but a dedicated athlete will just use that as motivation to work harder. I'm going to guess that when Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team, he didn't blame the coaches and I bet he didn't quit playing basketball.

[little_panther_mom]

Here is my theory. Parents now support their children "having fun" more so than working hard. They allow their kids to quit. They INSTILL no discipline. They set forth no repercussions for skipping practice (or school for that matter). When little Jimmy has a cough or a runny nose, mommy and daddy put him in the cradle and rock him to sleep.

Well this is one parent that does not coddle her children. When my boys start something they have to finish whether they like it or not. They are disciplined. And most importantly they are taught to RESPECT RESPECT RESPECT anyone and everyone!!!! I agree that lack of discipline is MOST of the problem with today's youth.

[once a runner]

I don't refute most of the points made in this post, but the memory is a funny thing sometimes. If you've been around long enough you will ALWAYS hear the past generations telling the new generation how they are spoiled and lazy. That observation is not without merit, but somehow we forget that we all had our share of wimps in our schools. Not everyone had work ethic "back in the day". Someday the current crop of successful athletes will be on this board complaining about the kids aren't as tough as they were.....just like our predecessors said about our generation.

On a side not, hiring coaches from outside the district to avoid politics is not the answer. There was a time when ALL of the coaches were hired from within the district. The bottom line is simple, the coaches want to win too. If an athlete is good enough to help his/her team win games, they will play.

[4him]

That is a good point Runner and something that I thing about often. So is it that each generation is truly getting worse or that our perspective changes as we get older? There is probably a little of both, but if you read the Bible, there is some evidence to lead you to believe that this world isn't getting any better. However, there is no one to blame but the generation raising the next generation. If we want our children to be as hard working and dedicated as we were then we have to instill those values in them.

[Eaglealum]

Amen