What’s Missing?

“That player has all of the tools, why aren’t they playing at the next level?”

“What’s missing?”

Well, it might not be what’s missing, perhaps it’s what’s there that is the root cause of the issue.

Young players that have all of the tools, sometimes are treated differently from the get go, which only compounds the situation.

Young players that have it all, might not have to work as hard because things come easy for them early, but they miss out on the adversity aspect of the game or position which others have to fight and battle through. Unfortunately, players that have it all, aren’t coached the same way as other players are which is a travesty in my opinion. If anything those coaches have to prepare the “special players” for the rigours of next season, but be fixated on winning as many games as possible when they have “the player” in their lineup.

There have been countless players over the years that possess the goods, but lack the variables it takes to thrive at the next level.

Entitlement is at the heart of the issue on many occasions, but that sense of entitlement was spawned and promoted throughout their path in the game.

Again, everyone wants to point the finger and identify the cause or reason why, but have these players ever been told why? Have their coaches ever pulled them aside and told them? Have they ever been held accountable?

Are they receptive to feedback?

Lack of receptivity and entitlement go hand in hand, it’s just an awful shame that some players that have seemingly everything going for them can’t seem to figure those two concepts out and that if were to fix those two things they would be successful. You see that’s what’s missing.

Scouts talk about character and intangibles all of the time, those terms get thrown out there ad nauseam, but the players that have all of the character in the world get passed over or ignored in favour of the player that has all of the tools but lack the one aspect teams and organizations claim to always be targeting which is character.

Character is being receptive. Character isn’t entitlement.

You want to know what they’re missing it’s that, it’s that one variable, but many of those players and their families are so fixated on blaming others rather than addressing the real issue which is themselves.

It’s not about the skill or all the tools they possess, it’s about their lack of character and sense of entitlement, that’s what’s missing and ironically that should have been the first skill they should have learned as soon as they laced them up.

Young players that have all of the tools, usually have all of the answers, just ask them and their parents they will tell you.

It’s my hope that those players figure it out, sooner rather than later, but doesn’t seem to happening because this shit is happening at every level along the way.