It's
been a while since I've last written here, and there are a few reasons behind
that, but with me being pretty sick this weekend and not wanting to get out of
bed I figured that today is a good day to write.
One of
the reasons why I haven't written in quite a long time is because I have lost
the full passion that I have had for the game (it's slowly coming back though).
There are a few personal reasons why my passion has dwindled but I won't get
into that. I have always said to myself though that when the game no longer
becomes fun it's time to step away. Today I want to write a quick blog on this
topic in regards to both players and coaches when it comes to the passion being
gone.
A
couple of seasons ago I had a player's mother chat with me where she tried to
help me convince her then 9 year old to stick with playing soccer after she had
decided she wanted to participate in other activities. I think I may have
caught her a little off guard when I said I can't do that. My reasoning/thought
process behind that statement comes from my personal belief that if a player
isn't interested in participating in a certain activity, there's really no
point in forcing the individual to stick around, especially when the players
are at a young age. When players are at a young age they are still trying to
figure themselves out as people and to try and typecast into one sport for the
rest of their lives (if it isn't their choice) is a bit foolish in my opinion,
and they should be able to try to find the activity that brings them the most
happiness. I'm a firm believer that kids should be provided with as many opportunities
to find themselves while growing up.
From a
coaching stand point, it's not fair to the coach, or to other teammates when
one of their teammates has no interest in being there. They often become a
distraction to the rest of the group as they have little interest and they
could be potentially be taking the place of another individual who may not be
as skilled, but has the eagerness to learn. I know personally as a coach I'd
prefer to work with a player who is less skilled but is wanting to get better
at any cost in comparison to a player who may be a bit more skilled but has
little interest in being there.
I would
like to point out that while you were reading this article, I wasn't talking
about players giving up the sport because they're going through a difficult
patch (team isn't winning as much, not having as much fun in their current environment),
but I'm talking about the individuals that truly don't have interest in participating
in the sport any more. This also goes for coaches as well, because if they're
not interested then they are doing a complete disservice to their players.
As I
said I'm not feeling too well so I'm going to be wrapping this one up now.
Cheers!
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