Making the team

Watching the latest plight of American Idol I couldn't help but think about the difficult journey to making a team. Absolutely the worst part of coaching is having to tell somebody they are not good enough...I have seen many a time where the coach will post a list and there it is...the dreams lost on a sheet of paper. AI does it the right way, they tell them to their face. Regardless, it is a miserable moment for all involved. On the other hand, the elation for making the grade, there's not much better feeling than that.

Team...the ultimate way to feel a part of a unified group...with similar interests...with similar abilities...with similar traits...with similar ages...What does it take? Many coaches have said it prepares you for life...it is bigger than life...if you quit now you'll always be a quitter...there is no I in team...it is the journey not the outcome...all have some validity. Point is people put their hearts out to be a part of...a team. And here it is...ALL TEAMS ARE DIFFERENT!

Each team poses a new unified track. Due to the imperfections of the human race, the team has to be distorted, configured, altered, managed to be the best it can be. Does that mean the best team wins? Some measure success only on wins. I'm going to tell you right now...NO! Some of my favorite teams included some groups that rarely won. But the practice sessions and the camaraderie were awesome. It's supposed to be that way. Sure the winning teams have all the notoriety...but as a coach I liked them all....yes them all. I picked them, managed them, worked them, and won and lost with them.

On a totally different topic...it angers me so much about the Collegiate governing process when a college coach can due great harm to his school by recruiting violations...cost that school scholarships...put the school on probation...and then move on to another school and not have any sanctions on him. This is the way of the present FB coach at Washington State...after he left Eastern Washington in disarray...burns my rear.

And talk about the worst leading article in a major news service, the SD trib debated on who was the worst draft pick, the Chargers Ryan Leaf or the Padres Matt Bush...that is the worst...