The Coach's Corner / "The Legend"

He’s the STUD! The LEGEND! 5”7’ 160 lbs. He throws 70+ with 4 pitches he can spot.

He batted over .600 last year, drops bombs effortlessly and he is yours! He is on your

team. All you have to do is get the other doofuses to play half way decently in support

and you will win the league!

Focus your energies on the lesser skilled players and you will be neglecting the Stud.

Here is reality. He is also probably an April baby so he’s a year older and more developed

than his peers. He’s going through puberty and may be shaving twice a day. He is literally

a man among boys. But all that will change. They will all become men. They will all grow

and get stronger. I have known many 12 year old Legends. The vast, vast majority fall by

the wayside. I coached arguably the finest 12 yr old team ever placed on a field, the first

select team from Houston. Can you imagine how good a team you can assemble when

you are the only team from Houston and have your pick of the local Legends? From that

team only 4 of the starters played HS baseball! 3 college, 2 pro and 1 (my no. 5 pitcher)

made the Majors.

So what happens? Other than the rest of the world catching up maturitywise, it has all

come sooo easy for the Legend. His Dad and friends fill him with expectations of scholarships

and signing bonuses. He has always dominated. He has never failed. He has never had to

develop a work ethic. He thinks he was born on third and hit a triple. While he coasted and

basked in his glory those less gifted, less mature, WORKED. They developed mental

toughness. By 16 they had passed the Legend and he can’t deal with his diminished stature.

Legends don’t work. Legends don’t sweat. Legends don’t fail. He finds an excuse to quit

and enter another activity.

So what do you do? The first thing you are probably going to have to do is burst ‘Delusional

Dad’s balloon.’ At worst get him to butt out. Then you are going to have to get control of the

Legend. Use the “One Minute Manager” method. He must understand you respect him and

have his best interest at heart. Then you must get him to understand ‘ how good he ain’t’ and

challenge him to work to improve his deficiencies. Then point out to him how much he is going

to improve, how valuable he will be and how much better off he will be for the effort. The bar

must be set higher. He must be taught and challenged on a higher level. He must learn to work

and fail and work some more.

This doesn’t mean you neglect the lesser skilled players but that your job just got a whole lot tougher.

The Coach
tipsfromthecoach.com

ARCHIVES

Email This

Comments (0) Add comments