No one would have any resentment for a kid that had to work because of a change of curcumstance in his life. 99% of the kids that quit do not have a legitimate reason that can not be worked around by a coach. They find excuses. No one here, other than possibly gutwrench, has said that grades should come secondary to athletics. What I am beginning to find frustrating is that quitting is becoming so socially acceptable. We live in a society that honestly does not respect hard work, and demands instant satisfaction and gratification. Hey, I know that I am old school. But I remember very vividly my parents demanding that I finish what I start. That began with T-ball, and still carries me to this day. What bothers US is that WE depend on others for OUR success. It's not okay to quit, in anything. We have a 50% failure rate in marriages because people QUIT! We have more bankruptcies than ever before because people QUIT! We have entire populations of people dependant upon the government for support because they QUIT! Are some of them victims of circumstance? Probably. But could they get off of their ever growing butts and find a job, and quit living off of our tax dollars? Probably. To rationalize quitting as acceptable is a politically correct form of weakness, and to accept it as the status quo will not solve the problems that society as a whole is facing. Do we use positive reinforcement? Absolutely. Kids have changed, and successful coaches have to change as well. I think that this is a great thread, and an important one. Will we use a "hall of shame" next year to go with our Hall of Fame? Probably not. But, I still like the idea. No one has ever accused me of being politically correct. Some kids do have a pathetic work ethic. We all have stories of kids from terrible situations that have done very, very well with absolutely no suport from home. We have all "loaned" kids money to eat, or for a team t-shirt at the beginning of the season . If we get repaid that's great, but most don't expect to. We're not in it for the money, but to make a difference in the life of a kid. We do that every day. We lose some that need us. I guess that's the frustration.
