Question For Coaches: On Average Does Your Team's Fastest Runner Also Act The Most Entitled?

The same thing happens to me. Most of the kids take my discipline and reprimands fine, but a few of them freak out when I give them any helpful belittling, or orders or suggestions. Usually these are the ones with helicopter parents like you say.

I'm not a coach, but I do think I can speak on this issue as a runner currently in high school.

I go to a small private high-school, where our distance running program is somewhat undeveloped. We have about 300 kids (9-12th), and about 35 or so come out for XC (dozen or so boys, the rest girls), since the schools requires all students play at least one sport, and XC is seen as the "easy" sport. The team has never won a state, or conference title.

The coach is a fantastic guy, but is part of the reason XC is seen as the "easy" sport. We run about 20mpw at most. The kids think this is normal for XC training, despite always wondering why we do so poorly compared to other schools. No one ever bothers to run over the summer (or if they do, its 20mpw at most), or otherwise train any harder. As a result, individuals with more natural talent rise to the top.

Since everyone is doing the same training, and these individuals are clearly preforming better than the others, they begin to think of themselves as superior to their teammates, and act somewhat entitled. A lot of the other runners don't understand even the most basic training principles, which makes them start seeing themselves as inferior to the more talented runners, enabling that sense of entitlement.

That's just been my experience so far. I know historically, the team has stayed roughly the same in terms of rankings at states, and the coach has been coaching for a rather long time, so I'm led to believe it's been this way for a while. I however have only been running for 1 year (started running sophomore year, going into junior year) with the team, and I could be wrong in my assumption. I also don't know if the same concepts would hold true in a more established program, like you mentioned, since a lot of the mechanisms which enable the better runners at my school to feel entitled, stem from the fact that the team is bad.

Helpful belittling?

My experience.... Communicate all expectations to athletes daily as needed with explanation of why whether it's workouts or team rules or general "living the life of a runner" philosophy. Make sure parents know expectations of their student and of themselves since they are also a part of the team effort and potential success of the said athlete/team. Explain your role and what they can expect from you and the appropriate way to communicate and what avenues get the quickest response. I have found that since I know what I want to happen to create the best experience for all involved, 99% or more understand up front what their role is. Anyone varying from that role gets called out by everyone and is either quickly re-directed or figures out they just don't fit in and are on the team for the wrong reasons. Doesnt matter how fast they are, no exceptio s to the format or the program as a whole suffers. Teach leadership to the whole team, not just the seniors. Kids mess up so get help from the parent before drastic measures have to be taken. Nothing is carved in stone and everyone earns their keep every day. Laws of the jungle apply regularly but everyone gets a fair shot and they know it. Very few problems on my squads with an occasional self elimination. Good leadership, hard work get respect over talent and entitlements.

R. U. Cereal? wrote:

Helpful belittling?

Hahaha... That was an eyebrow-raiser for me, too.

They can only feel entitled if they win when it counts. Then you've "earned" some entitlement. There in there own world.

GnomeBe wrote:

There in there own world.

That sentence is painful.