I was reading one of the threads that is open and got to thinking about gamers. By that I mean the guys who have bad attitudes, bad work ethic, bad practices, but just know how to turn it on when the lights come on and the umpire yells play ball. I believe there are three types of successful players. I say successful because in high school there are rarely more than 4 that fit into either category, the rest are just players who enjoy the game or the glory. Gamers are just athletically talented and never have to work to be successful at some level of ball. There are workers who have to put in more time than anyone else to be able to compete and have high skill level through technique. And then there are the few that have athletic ability and great work ethic to outwork everyone else.
I also believe there are coaches that are gamers. They do not know the intricacies of the game but are great recruiters for their college, high school, or travel ball teams. They put the best players on the field and watch them perform and can make great decisions during the game. I believe there are teachers of the game who spend hours on drills and working on the game and helping their players become great players but may not be able to coach during the games. They sometimes have success because they have prepared the players. Then there are the few coaches who have great game decision making and also do a great job of teaching the game and technique.
But what happens when these two entities collide. Gamer player and gamer coach together are usually successful. Gamer player and teacher coach usually butt heads but may be successful if coach can deal with it during practice. Worker player and gamer coach usually the player feels that the coach is letting them down and has to work harder. Worker player and teacher coach love each other but may be overkill for the other players.
In every level of baseball or probably any sport we see these types colliding. The perfect world is when great players who perform on a high level and work at it get together with a great coach who can teach technique and coach in a game are all on the same team. The problems come when the expectations of one do not match the expectations of another.
Just my thoughts after being around the game. I'm sure we all think our kid and our coach fits into one of these.