quote:Originally posted by Nicholas25:
Our program has a new direction, and sometimes you have to teach kids that the old ways are no longer acceptable.
Nicholas, and that is a great idea. However, you do it in several ways. Bulldog19 was a fiery competitor. I coached against him and he knows the program I ran. He'd be the first to acknowledge that the coaching staff at his school as well as myself get after it. However, we get the kids to buy into it. It isn't overnight. In the end, if you care about the fundamentals and teach the game and then have the kids come along beside you, you'll make it a program. What you're going to have to first do is discover how to make it a program and not just a team.
Here is something for you to think about and what I call, The Qualities of a Baseball Knight.
1. He wants the toughest and best competition in practice and in games because it makes him better.
2. He would rather his team win conference than himself make All-Conference.
3. Whether in the game or not, he wants all of his teammates to do well.
4. He practices hard and pays the price because he knows that most Baseball games are won or lost due to preparation.
5. He deals honestly with his coaches and teammates. He understands that disloyalty to either coaches or teammates hurts the team and will not be tolerated.
6. He never assesses blame.
7. He pays attention to detail.
8. He never likes losing but he is gracious in losing. He understands that he represents his team, coaches, school and community.
9. He will never back down from competition.
10. He practices to make small strides in his game each and every day to enable him to be a complete baseball player by the end of his playing career as a Knight.
11. He realizes that his off-court behaviors, demeanor and attitude affect the team, coaching staff, school and community.
12. He realizes that if we lose, it is not “his fault.” Losing is a team loss. He also realizes that if we win, it is not strictly because of him. Winning is a team win.
13. He realizes that the difference between most players is not so great that hard work cannot overcome it.
14. He puts the time and effort in during the off-season in the plyo-metric and weight conditioning program to enable his team to have success.
15. He would rather build character than be a character!
This or things like this is the first step to building a program. Then, great teams will follow. However, you have to get a tradition started first.