Coaches want more than just athletic skills and confident maturity

Jefferson High School shooting guard Jazmyn Taylor drives past some Washington High School defensive players, during a game in the 2023-2024 school year. David Pennock

SHEPHERDSTOWN — High school athletics and college athletics have their obvious differences. The skill levels aren’t the same. Neither are the pressures to perform well and do the required work in the classroom.

Usually, the skill sets of the coaches are also different.

But coaches seeking a winning and harmonious atmosphere want much the same sort of athlete for their teams.

The athletic mentors want athletic talent. Athletic talent, in their minds, should include quickness; strength; an acumen for the player’s particular sport; enough intelligence to realize the need to be taught fundamentals and strategy about the sport; humility; and a cooperative attitude, reflecting an awareness of the value of team playing and understanding that the player is not the only person on the team.

Everyone wants to enjoy what they are doing. But too many of today’s players want recognition beyond what comes from a team-first situation.

Either the player or the player’s parents believe the high school player is going to receive a college-paid education valued at thousands of dollars. That is why they are on a school-sponsored team. The college players too often believe they are headed directly into professional sports. And they are not.

The coach seeks an athlete who knows the importance of the team and the impact team work has on the success of the season.

Selfishness usually can’t be hidden. And coaches don’t want a player whose ideas of teamwork always begin with himself or herself.

Coaches want athletes who might get taller and add weight, while maturing and refining their skills. They’re after those athletes whose skills and abilities will be increased as he or she matures.

There are even some coaches who would prefer to recruit players from a larger family, because that person already knows how to share responsibilities with others and realizes that any honors and glory might go to others and not just the individual. They are used to sharing.

Habits are very important. In college, there is time away from class. Will that student/athlete get out of bed and regularly attend class, now that there is no one there to get them moving on a wintry morning? A useful work ethic can be as important as any already-tuned athletic ability. A lazy individual whose practice habits are lacking is likely to be a too-lazy student in the classroom.

Coaches don’t play. They want to be represented by someone who knows the value of the team. Selfishness is too often the destroyer of team morale.

The idea of, “What can this team do for me?” is a malignancy that can ruin a season.

Athletes who are workaholics are often more prized than the ones with more natural abilities.

Whether winning or losing, nobody wants to be where there is drudgery.

Keep selfishness to a minimum or keep it confined to checkers, chess or Monopoly.

Coaching is difficult enough. Finding team-oriented athletes can still make it satisfying.