Recently I hosted a shootout that featured a ton of novice players. Each player had fun and each player worked hard. One player in particular caught my eye. This player had a hard time handling defeat. My first thought was, “Wow, good ability, great footwork, poor skills and hates to lose!” Cool combo to championship potential. I approach said player, and invite them to another shootout. Their response? “No, I have a party that day.” So here is what happened.
1. Ability-way above average
2. Determination during play-way above average
3. Footwork-way above average.
4. skills-way below average
5. Perseverance to excellence rating: F- no love of the game to improve.
I have other athletes and one junior comes to mind.
1-4 is the same and so is 5. This kid does not want to work on their game. They need to taste defeat a few times! That would help!
Then I have this other junior who will not quit. They will not get off the court and they never think they work hard enough. Want to bet who gets better, faster?
Yep–if you win why do you think you need to improve? This is true at almost every level. Think about this though-What if you had a player who won all the time and still wanted to improve? Well, racquetball does have that player and he is left-handed.