Every year I have a talk with seniors, I begin by asking them who were the seniors when they were freshmen....and what do they remember about them?
Then I ask this year's crop of seniors if they feel as old as the seniors were when they were freshmen........? In the last 39 years of being a coach, I have only heard seniors say they did not feel as mature or as well prepared as the seniors were when they were 14 year old freshmen.......
I then go on and tell them how I once asked those seniors the same question......and then I compare it to life and eating a meal. When you are eating you can tell when you have had enough to eat. (Now you may make bad decisions and continue to eat.....but that is a choice) Then we talk about studying for a test, we talk about how school would be easier if you could feel your mind fill up like your stomach does.....but you can't so how do you know if you have studied enough? In the end it comes down to experience, life is a process..... or better yet, Life is a Game, you learn by playing!
The mental side of life isn't as easy to manage as the physical side and this is clearly seen in sports. Every year coaches are surprised by their athletes that quit. Senior athletes quit for various reasons, but this is what I have come to understand......
The first group of quitters are Seniors that suffer from the Imposter Syndrome. For years they have been part of the team, the year they finally are seniors the suddenly don't feel prepared.....they do not feel like they thought the seniors were 4 years before...... They decide to leave the sport because they can't "feel full"........ If they don't master this feeling they are in danger of living their lives running from responsibility. These are the athletes I personally feel coaches have let down if we don't prepare them to work through the mental side of leadership. Maybe I should just say, this group fears leadership....they have loved being a part of the team, but fear being out in front.
The second group of quitters are reaping their reward of not working hard. Play time is never guaranteed, once it is too late and a few seniors discover they will not be starting, and an underclassman will take of most of the playtime.......sadly those seniors will leave the program. Their families will seldom be honest with them, or the community. They will not say the work was not done, but they will instead bad-mouth the coaches and the program and blame others for them failing to work hard to be the best.
The third group of quitters are devastated to see their sport come to an end....and choose to walk away at the beginning of the season so they don't have to face the season's end....... I know that sounds stupid, but it will happen to some every year.
To the class of 2027.....you have worked your whole lives to reach this moment. You deserve to be here and just as important the team (your world) needs you here as well.
