Are you loving your players like you say you are?

We use the word love quite frequently in the coaching world. Some players have never heard that word from an adult and some just respond negatively or shy when they hear it from us. What does that word really mean? Are you using it to gain trust or an advantage to gain access to the player? Are you trying to win them over so they will work hard or do the things you request them to do in games and practices? If you are truly loving your players as you should then you first and foremost want whatever is in the best interest of the kid to be the end result. We talk about love in our program on a regular basis and tell them we love them but we also show them how and why we love them. We want them to be productive members of our school and community so we have to constantly talk with them about correct behavior and respect and what is and isn’t allowed. We have to get them to understand the importance of going to class but also excelling in class. We have to address the accountability of making it to school every day and making quality choices, respecting the administration, teachers. front office staff, fellow students, custodial staff, cafeteria staff and bus drivers. We may talk to them about who they should and shouldn’t hang out with and talk to them about the positive and negative choices there are outside of the school grounds and one of the most important factors of loving them correctly is that we have to tell them the truth and not what they desire to hear. We have to be honest about their collegiate potential, the level they may or may not go, why another teammate is recruited more than they are and why life may be hard at times over these issues. We have to be another parent, coach, mentor, counselor and tutor. If you love them like you say you do then you will love them like they need us to.