A question I would get a lot when I was coaching was how do you deal with a player who has a bad attitude or not the right attitude. There have been many talented teams who weren’t able to accomplish the type of success they could have had they had the right attitude. As a leader and a father it’s important to help mold and shape children or the people you are leading to buy into the culture you are trying to create. There are 2 things that I would try to do with players I thought didn’t have the right attitude.
- I’d sit down and talk with them. I would explain to them that the goal of our organization was to get better as a team. Then I would let them know we would all be better if everyone was working together to reach a common goal.
- I’d have other players talk to them as well. Having their peers talk to them would reinforce what I was trying to teach. That way it wasn’t just an authority figure, but their peers saying, “We need you. Help us out. We need to get on the right page.”
You can follow the same advice when challenging your child’s attitude. Talk to them about the values your family holds dear. You may find youth leaders or other adults that can reinforce those values to help the child come around. Talking about team goals over individual goals, by me and other players, would usually bring the player around. After that they would realize they wanted to be a part of the winning and fun we were creating.
