Coaches have always wanted confident players who can make three pointers with hands in their faces or hit homeruns with two outs. However, coaches also want players who don’t get too distracted by their own heroism. “Confidence” can be a double-edged sword; its evil twin, “Cockiness,” can ruin a high school player’s career and give him a bad reputation for his 4 years of existence at their high school. The real question is, how can we prevent the bad reputation from overshadowing confidence in a player’s performance?
Let’s put this in perspective. You’re the starting point guard on the Girls Varsity Basketball team, and you average a double-double. People chant your name, people make signs, and the newspapers love you. You have every right to be cocky. You’re amazing! You are the only person to ever gain this amount of fame in the history of the existence of planet Earth! Wrong.
41,691.
That number represents the total number of secondary schools in the United States as of the 2005-2006 school year, according to the Digest of Education Statistics. That means that there are nearly 42,000 people out there who might share your attitude…for your sport.
Now, Mr. U-18 Boys Volleyball player, since the press loves you so much, where are you going to college? You’ll get in anywhere with your 6.7 kill per game average! There is nobody out there like you! Wrong again.
There are 78 NCAA schools that offer boys volleyball, so calm down, Hotshot. This number might be lower because of the sport, but I think you catch my drift. The competition for NCAA scholarships is rough.
High school athletes need to recognize their surroundings. You’re 16-18 years old. You’re not playing for the Detroit Redwings and you’re not playing under Phil Jackson and next to Kobe Bryant. You’re a kid just like the rest of the 41,691 stars in your sport. Confidence is a great quality for one to have. It builds the team’s morale and helps others succeed.
So please remember why you started playing your sport to begin with. Forget about the press, forget about impressing people and just play the game. Let’s change that number from 41,691 to 41,690. Don’t be just another cocky athlete who gets passed over for the NCAA scholarship. Be a confident student, activist, citizen and athlete. Maybe then, you’ll be #1.
-Dylan Hicks
