I have a good and talented runner, but he has a very bad attitude in general. What do I do?

The rule on my highschool XC team was if you miss practice without a pre-approved excuse, you were of the team, period, no exceptions.

But out team had great depth, so it was true that no one person was THAT important. No one ever missed practice.

Can you talk to the kids parents? If you can't get through to him, let him go. You are the adult and are in charge. Lay down the law!

Any kid who belittles his teamates doesn't deserve to be on the team.

Do what any of the great coaches would have done.

This guy is talented but he's not going anywhere. What did joe newton say... "It's nice to be great, but it's greater to be nice" and he's had a few good teams.

Thanks for the responses. I think he is "understanding" his talent a bit better. For example, last year he did not even run cross country, just ran track and by the end was running these times. This year, he has decided to run cross country because he is seeing how talented he is so it's getting through to him a little.

He does belittle his teammates, but they just put up with him. I agree that it is bad for him to have this sort of attitude, but it's just hard to kick him off the team like that because he is a key player. It would be bad if the team missed the state meet just because they didn't have him to score the points necessary (which is a very possible scenario because of how close it is).

His parents I think do somewhat spoil him, and seem to turn a blind eye on his attitude.

no body said you had to be a great team mate, but as a coach you need to make sure he abides by the rules.

If he misses or dogs practice, break him down. also be sure to make sure he knows how pathetic he is when he competes vs X school.

It's you're job to break him down and then build him up. Think Cool Hand Luke... and you'll get the picture.

Would you repeatedly invite a rude guest into your house?

After school sports are a privilege. They must be earned. No buts.

You know what to do.

Do it today, and don't look back. When the parent calls or comes by, just explain that people who act nasty are not part of the team.

Your team will thank you for having a spine, and you will teach them something about integrity.

like the other poster said, contact his parents, tell them if he gets really serious about his running, he might not have to pay much money for college

Or you could hold a mandatory "Pasta Party" at your house, and give him a serious beat down

Did you watch the movie Full Metal Jacket and learn about 'Code Red'. Well when I was in the crotch we didn't have any such procedure. We just got punched out by the Corporal, Sergeant, whom ever. Get my drift ?

I have the same type of problem described except the person is on my team. The coach turns a blind eye to him just because he's fast/talented... what could I do in this situation when I don't really have much power?

Enter him in some races that he will get his ass kicked in. Really. Having it handed to him, will show him that, if he wishes to beat the best runners in the nation, he will need to work hard for it. He doesn't need to be a nice guy, but he does need to be a hard worker. The kid needs to understand that while he is the sh*t in his pond, there are some real sharks out there.

I would have killed for that kind of talent in high school, do what you have to, to make sure it doesn't go to waste.

Kick him off.

Then when he misses a few meets, talk to the team about how he could help them so much but his attitude needs to change. Then have them approach him about coming back, but only if he practices every day and changes his attitude.

If his peers can't get him to help the team, no one can.

To paraphrase the words of the immortal David R. Grubb, Indiana Outlaw - "Whip his ass. Don't kill the kid, but whip his ass."

Do whatever you would do if he was a 11:30 2 miler

1/10

While I admire that you want to ensure the team as a whole has success as the result of this kid's points (and some part of you seems to want to develop his talent), I have to agree with the majority of respondents that advise kicking the kid off the team.....or at least issuing him a zero-tolerance ultimatum.

Look long-term. How much respect will you have for yourself if you let the tail wag the dog. Moreover, how much respect will the rest of the kids have for you as a coach if you let the "prima donna" walk all over you. And as far as the team itself goes, one kid with a bad attitude can become the proverbial cancer.

I think it's okay to allow respectful input from you athletes, but you should foster a team dynamic that adheres to your authority.

Spank him!

RRRR wrote:

Enter him in some races that he will get his ass kicked in. Really.

Best idea so far. This is why an American sprinter got G.O.A.T. tattooed on him, because he was (not really, but close), and he knew it. You'll never see a distance runner in American do that (because they aren't and they know it).

You need to show him that on the grander scale, if he doesn't get below 9:00 for 3200m, he's nothing; and even then, you could ship him out of the country to race XC Worlds and he'll get a DNS because he sh*t his shorts.

Having just gotten rid of an athlete similar to the one you describe, I can say life is MUCH more worth living! I look forward to going to practice and coaching the polite, enthusiastic athletes, even if they are slower. You are losing motivation with this turd around, and that means you have less to give to the others, who deserve your best. The best coaching you can do is to show him that you have self respect, and won't allow someone who behaves like that to waste your time. If you keep him you're teaching him that it will be ok to act like this in a job. So you're actually setting him up to be fired, maybe when he's responsible for supporting a young family. Pretty selfish of you, just because you're scared to do what's right. Kick his ass out the door today!

I don't know about you guys, but if some puny freshman kid coped an attitude on my team and starting talking smacked, he would get knocked the f*** down.

I'm surprised none of your older runners have done anything at all about this cocky kid.