Ill-Behaved Teammates

And who judges who will be losers and who will be the winners ??

Isnt it all part of life ?---in the work force in major companies you see the same things


I do not believe you should live in a "bubble"---that is too idealistic and totally unrealistic

Maturing young adults need to learn how to cope with all situations

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
And who judges who will be losers and who will be the winners ??

Isnt it all part of life ?---in the work force in major companies you see the same things


I do not believe you should live in a "bubble"---that is too idealistic and totally unrealistic

Maturing young adults need to learn how to cope with all situations

I do beleive that character is becoming more and more of a sixth tool. I know that my son's recruiting coach worked very hard at finding players he felt deserved to be in uniform, and I beleive that most college coaches try to do the same thing. And I do beleive that this goes for scouts as well. As far as what happened to the Dbacks first pick, this is not the norm.

If you are refering to the Michael Vicks of the world, that's a whole other issue.

As far as language in a locker room, I can imagine what goes on, but that doesn't make one a future convict. Are you talking about guy talk? Or people who don't know when to tone it down for the general public?

If a parent teaches kids from the beginning, qualities to look for in those he will become friends with, there is no problem. If these types of people attract one's son to be their friends, well then you do have a right to voice your displeasure.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
And who judges who will be losers and who will be the winners ??

This guy might have the answer.

quote:

I do believe that character is becoming more and more of a sixth tool.

I hope this becomes more and more true. In fact, I think it begs another interesting question: how do recruiters and scouts gaugue makeup and character? How good are they at figuring out how much heart a kid has?

How good are they at finding out if a kid is a good teammate, has a good work ethic, and has all those other intangible Lenny Dykstra/Craig Biggio qualities that coaches all say they want?

I think this question is worthy of its own thread, so if you want to post an opinion on it, do it here.

A very successful HS coach I know refers to certain types of players as "poison". No matter how good he may look on the field, if he brings down everyone around him, you're better off without him.

That being said, while I don't encourage profanity, you can't get 16-20 teenage boys in a locker room and not expect it to go on. At that age, it would be shocking if you DIDN'T hear it. This includes trash talk about girls, too -- things that would make any mom blanche.

As for "future felons" -- no one knows what the future holds. If a kid is shoplifting or selling drugs right now, that kid shouldn't be on the team; he should be dealing with the authorities (and probably will be soon enough). He is "poison". But if you're looking at a kid and thinking you know where he's heading when he hasn't done anything yet, you need to back off.

Lots of coaches look the other way at drinking because they remember doing it themselves in their youth. That's a mistake. These kids hang out together and the drinking habit can spread like a disease. My preference would be a coach who says simply, "If at any time you are caught drinking or doing drugs, you can forget baseball, because you won't be on my team." Tell them in advance and then live up to your word. If they hear the warning and fail to heed it, they have no one to blame but themselves.

Now, whether you give second chances, or how long you would wait before offering a second chance, is a whole other subject.

P.S. Though it's not the focus of this thread, my friend's use of the term "poison" also refers to the kid who, while perhaps not breaking any laws, just has a total bad attitude. Treats his teammates like dirt, throws his helmet, acts like he's the greatest of all time -- you all know the type. By high school, this kid is not a project. He should be cut.

On a less serious note, what do we do about the kid who chews a huge wad of chewing gum with his mouth wide open? This is the teammate that always drove me crazy. And it always seemed like they put his locker next to mine!

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
On a less serious note, what do we do about the kid who chews a huge wad of chewing gum with his mouth wide open? This is the teammate that always drove me crazy. And it always seemed like they put his locker next to mine!