Clash of the season

    There are always players who dislike a coach and I never thought I would be on the opposite end of one of those kids. Around the mid season mark into my tenure as the Acme coach, one of the players whom I had known a little bit about previously was upset with me over his playing time and thought he was better than other kids on the field. I sat down with him and told him what I had been seeing in practice. The ability was there for him to be a starter sure. I told him the effort was lacking severely and the attitude was starting to reflect onto other players. For the best of the team I felt I had to bench him until he earned that spot as nobody is entitled to anything in life. Not only did other players see the bigger picture, a few of them went over to the player and told him to straighten up because they could really use him on the field.

    This could have posed a big problem, but it actually helped both myself and other players grow. In the end, the player did eventually start to improve his attitude and effort.Gradually, he gained more and more playing time by the end of the season.