You cannot make it big if you fool around with time. I agree that coming for your training sessions does not excite you the way the real game does. But that is no excuse for you to come late.
When you come late you are showing disrespect to others. You are showing that you don’t care for leadership and authority.
When you come late you are disrupting carefully laid out plans. Now what does that mean?
Think about it: Whether plans just happen or plans have to be well thought out? And that takes time, invaluable time.
When you come late, you are telling us you are somehow bigger than the team. You are showing us that you can afford to keep all of us waiting.
Taken together how many hours of all of us you wasted when you came 20 minutes late?
Now what do you think is the purpose of playing? Is it to win championships in the big league? Yes, certainly one hundred per cent yes!
That is why I am asking you to give your best each time you are out here for the practice sessions.
But that alone is not the purpose. There is a higher one that should motivate you. You are here to be a good player who learns to be disciplined.
Without strict discipline none of you will make it big in real life. You might win championships and lose in life. Will that not be disastrous? Think about it.
So today I demand that you come on time. It is a commitment that you should make. If you think you are above all this; the team will do better without you.
You should learn to be proud about the jersey you wear, the cap you don, and the team you represent. You say, “I don’t care about any of these things,” when you come late for our training sessions.
Today I am cancelling all practice sessions for the next one week! You know what that means?
It means that the majority of players suffer because a few of you came late. “Isn’t that unjust Coach,” you might ask?
Yes, it is unjust. But that is the only way I see to make you understand the value of time and discipline. That is the only way I see to drill some character into you!
And next Monday sharp 5:00pm we meet for training. If anyone is late by one minute, you don’t play with this team again. Is that clear?
I would rather have this team fail in championships but win in life than stack the shelves with trophies and lose in all that matters most in life!
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“You’ve got to have great athletes to win, I don’t care who the coach is. You can’t win without good athletes but you can lose with them. This is where coaching makes the difference.”
— Lou Holtz, Former American Football Coach