July is ending. It is easy enough to look at the calendar no? It was only four month ago, you free agent player looking to move up had all the great idea, all the big plan. You know everything you need to know and no one can tell you anything to change you mind.
All spring and summer you get all the email from so many team. You talk to other player and say, “they are interested in me”, “I was invited to their camp”, and every other line you can imagine to pump up you own ego, and do what I call the “camp invite bragging competition”.
It is the summer pissing contest. It is the summer vacation traveling road show. It is the summer of camp disappointment after disappointment. It is the summer of thousands of dollars spent and the only thing to show for it is the “free jersey” you left camp with.
This happen every spring and summer.
So now that hundreds and thousands of you who have done the summer camp rounds do not have teams to play on. Are you ready to look in the mirror and recognize that after how ever many camp you attended that you are not ready to rise to a new level?
That is correct. You are not ready and all the coaches that cut you are not wrong.
Parent, are you ready to do the same, and have the honest conversation with you child? Are you ready to do the right thing and tell the child you no longer willing to waste thousands, sometime tens of thousands of dollar on camps that not real opportunity? Or will you continue to give the self entitled brats what ever they want?
Do not blame the team for having the camp. Do not blame the team for taking the money. Every team need money to survive. Every team have bills to pay. Ice is not free yes? Bus do not come with free gas either.
If you find youself hitting the panic button, and scrambling for place to play now, it is only you fault. If you now have to pay to play junior and money is tight, perhaps you should have not gone to so many camps this summer. Perhaps you should have look youself in the mirror a long time ago.
The panic time officially begin on August 1. This for the player with no team, and for the team with not enough player.
Always the mad dash to the end for the player who not smart enough to get backup plan in place early and team who not smart enough to actually sign player in the summer and work to build good team. Either way, the end result is usually bad team and bad experience for player.
The best player in the world, the best player at each level is the honest player. He self evaluate all the time. He realize limitations, and work hard to be the best he can be at the level he should be. The other player always whining and crying about why he not at higher level, usually it that player who looking for team come August.
If you in panic mode, step away from computer and go find nearest mirror. If the person staring back at you is making bad decision, and over valuing himself, tell him goodbye and start listening to those who know better.
Coach
