It seems only fitting that I would start with a post about Respect – after all the site is called coachingrespect.
Respect is something I have used to illustrate to my teams how our team will behave and view things.
RESPECT yourself, RESPECT the team, RESPECT the game, and RESPECT the opponent enough to play your best
As a human being, you first must respect yourself before you expect anyone else to respect you. That goes for the clothes you wear, the language you use, the music you listen to, the food/drink you consume, the friends you are around, the grades you make – basically everything you do. This is especially true for high school athletes. Everyone has insecurities that have to be addressed at some time or another. If those insecurities cause you to do something that disrespects yourself then you have to answer the question – is it worth it? For example if you are insecure about people liking you and that causes you to go along with the crowd thus putting yourself in a bad situation then you must take a look at that insecurity. RESPECT is something that has to give you power over your insecurity.
There have been players that have made bad choices – really bad choices. That caused adults, teachers, and teammates lose respect for that player. The player quickly realized that respect is gained slowly and lost quickly. Some players have been able to complete the long journey back to respect while others thought the journey was too hard and gave up.
It is up to you as the coach to help the player understand that the journey back is worth the effort. The first thing to do is break it down in same parts for them to work on – perhaps it is nothing more than being early to practice and staying after to help put out and clean up the gear. Small efforts can go a long way to earn your teammates respect.