When building a team, many coaches may just take raw talent into consideration. However, that does not always lead to the best team.
In any sport, it’s a team atmosphere. Athletes spend countless hours training, jumping, running, throwing, catching, and lifting weights in order to build muscles. From an early age, youths are taught the basics of their chosen sport. In baseball, you hit the ball, you drop the bat, and you run to first. From middle school up, it gets a little more competitive, and you’re taught the basic strategies of how to win.
Yet what really makes an athlete a good player? Is it talent? Sure, that plays a big part in it, but what about an athlete who’s less talented? They can still contribute to the team in a high capacity.
Courtesy Historic Dodgertown
Let’s say you’re a high school baseball coach. The season is about to start, and you’re building your team. Of course you want the most talented players–but what if you’re evaluating a player and his fielding is not very good, but one thing he does do well is hit the ball? Do you cut him, or let him be a part of the team?
It’s a dilemma that every coach must think about. What happens if you have a player who’s not very good at fielding or hitting, but occasionally, manages to get on base– and he’s your fastest runner on the team? Every athlete contributes to the team. The fastest runner can steal bases, the guy who hits the ball well can get on base, a player who can’t hit, but is good at fielding, can get outs. A coach should think about the positive of an athlete, rather than the negative.
In high school football, how do you choose your quarterback? Do you hold a competition to see who can throw it the farthest? What happens if the quarterback with the strongest arm has terrible accuracy, but another player has tremendous accuracy, but can’t chunk it down field? You as a coach will develop the athletes, but be smart enough if one gets hurt–than the next athlete can manage a game and contribute well.
College recruiters and professional scouts look at height, weight and size–but never underestimate an athlete’s talent in one specific area. By having athletes who may be less talented than certain players, but can still contribute in a specific area, you will have a very good team that will be tough to beat.
