2% or 98%

I've seen several various studies regarding what percentage of high school athletes actually receive athletic financial aid to participate in college. The research I've seen puts that magic number at below 2%. Less than 2% of all the high school athletes in the United States receive any financial aid (scholarship) to participate in their sport in college. That brings to my mind a few thoughts.
First, if less than 2% of the athletes we work with at the high school level are actually good enough to "take it to the next level" should our focus be on the 2% or the other 98%. I've seen a countless number of coaches, who had one of these rare, gifted athletes come across their practice field and receive 98% of the coaches focus, leaving the other 2% of his or her attention to the large majority of the team. If that seems backwards, well, it is! As stated before I've seen this too many times to count, and I've NEVER seen a coach with this approach that had a consistently successful program. Some of the reasons for their programmatic mediocrity are obvious. Simply put a single individual can't "do it all!" I suppose one might argue the point with the rare example such as James Segrest. He was a teammate of my high school track coach, Charley Walton. Amazingly, as a senior at Bangs, TX High School Coach Segrest (he later became a very successful track coach and member of numberous "halls of fame)won the Texas State Track and Field Championship. You might ask, "what event?" Actually, he placed first in the 100, 220 (they ran yards then rather than meters) and the 440! He also placed 4th in the long jump, scoring 34 points for the mighty Dragons. He was Bangs' only qualifier and the 1954 State Championship "team" trophy still sits in the Bangs High School trophy case! Yes, James Segrest won the team title by himself... and then he graduated. Coach Walton told us time and again how the Dragon track programs was really nothing to write home about prior to Coach Segrest's arrival, nor was it much after his graduation. It was the case of one gifted athlete randomly passing through the Dragon hallways for four years. In contrast one might look at a program such as the Katy High School football program. They occasionally have an "athlete" receive some minor financial aid to play in college. They have even had some outstanding athletes, but what has sustained their consistent success for over 2 decades is their coaches focus on the 98%. They develop every athlete to reach his maximum mental and physical potential. Thus success has become a way of life for the Tigers.
Another thought on the statistic of the "less than 2%" is that it has always seemed that about 98% of the parents believe that their child is part of that 2%. I was recently contacted by yet another mom whose child (will be a freshman) is an "extremely gifted" track and field athlete, and I should work with her one-on-one because not only would it help the child develop but would also help my reputation when are accolades come to fruition. I don't want to get back into the parent issue. Spent too much time on them in the last blog.
The "2%er" under the coach that only shows attention to them also often realizes that they are "special," and as soon as they do, they often begin to decline. Former Rice University Track Coach, Augie Erfurth always said that "as soon as you think you've arrived you couldn't be further from the mark." In other words, as soon as you think you've made it to the top, there's only one way to go.
My final thought of the day regarding the "2%" club is that they would likely be successful under almost any other coach's guidance. I was fortunate to have a good number of these athletes and I can say that some of them could have been coached by Daffy Duck and they would have been successful. That is not to say that we as coaches don't possess the ability to screw things up, but occasionally the athlete shows up that simply has all the ingredients. They are talented enough, confident enough, humble enough, smart enough and have reasonable parents. Some find it depressing that those ingredients seem pretty simple, and yet they only make up less than 2% of all high school athletes. I don't find it depressing at all. To me, it seems that the 98% can be led to possess all except 2 of those "key ingredients." Natural talent is, well, natural, but we can coach them to be the best they can be, and the athlete has nothing to do with whether their parents are reasonable or not.

Parents (please enjoy the story at the end... we do win a few...

I have heard it said that any comment preceded with the words, "bless his heart" might be less than honest. I took it to mean "I like this person, but you know how he/she can be...." You know, like that ornery "Uncle Bob" who is so negative and loud... bless his heart. A true attempt at being understanding. Parents sometimes fall into that category. I mean, I have parents, you have parents, and we love them! I have become friends with some of my athlete's parents and they are great and reliable people; people I will go to my grave believing that if I'm ever in need, they would be there. They are people that I trust their intellect, their intentions, their loyalty to our friendship, and their motivation. I have also come to know some parents in my tenure as a coach and athletic administrator that have an agenda. They display the persona that they understand my position, care about me personally, certainly care about the program, and even understand the difficulty that a coach faces in the effort to not only be fair but appear to be fair. They "display" this. It soon often becomes clearly evident, when dealing with this type of parent, that they have "tunnel vision." They want what's best for their child.... AND shouldn't they? I'm a parent. I want what's best for my child. The large majority of parents want what is best for their child. So what's the problem? A good example of the problem parent was given to me by my good friend and former K.H.S. baseball coach, David Denny, who said "those are the parents that want the eight very best players on the team on the field... along with their kid... all the time!" I'm certainly not going to conclude that there is a specific scientifically proven method of dealing with parents. They are all different, as we all are. There are the over-protective type who refuse to trust the judgment of the coach. Hard to argue with someone who is just insuring the safety of their child. There are those that live vicariously through their child. I know you have heard of them and they do exist... mass quantity. I never really found it difficult to deal with them. Occasionally even looked forward to such opportunities. I suppose that's because I thought most of them were idiots and as long as they were alive I was not the stupidest person alive. There are those that demand playing time (yet another category of mass quantity. The list is truly endless. Actually, this topic is so broad one blog can't begin to really do it justice, so I'll close with a simple accounting of one dad in the last category I mentioned (my son isn't getting enough playing time). This happened during my Athletic Director days. I was sitting in my office and a dad 'pops in.' He was professionally dressed. Did not bother with introductions. As I reflect now I think he just wanted to get to the point. He quickly sat down and immediately pulled his check book and pen from his pocket. The conversation went something like this:
dad: (with check book open and pen resting in the "amount box") "Okay. How much will it cost me?"
me: "What... how much will what cost you."
dad: "Look I don't have time for this. I know how it works. So how much will it cost me?"
me: "Really sir. Who are you and how much will "what" cost you?"
dad: "I'm a busy man. I'm the CEO of a multi-million dollar business. I don't have time to banter back and forth with you. How much will it cost for my son to start?"
me: (I must admit that at that point I had developed a goal of keeping this busy CEO in my lowly office for as long as I could) Well, it looks like you really don't know how it works (sure fire path to confrontation... challenge their knowledge/intellect), because playing time is not for sale... and even if it was I would have to know who you were in order to "make it happen," and I don't yet know who you are (another path to conflict... diminish their significance).
dad: (Obviously miffed) Don't play games with me. We both know that you know who I am and what I'm capable of, so just give me the damn number. Name your price!
me: (I so wanted to say "a million dollars ought to do it" but alas I refrained)
Sir. I have not used, nor will I use profanity during our conversation, and I would appreciate it if you would control that as well. Thank you. Now, you can put your check book away. It is not going to do you any good unless you want to make a donation to the Humble ISD Education Foundation which is tax deductable. If you will do so and tell me who you are and who your child is and in which school he / she attends and which sport he / she participates and who his / her coach is we might be able to do something constructive.
dad: G---d--- it! Don't talk down to me. I own a million of you. Don't insult me by trying to tell me that I can't buy playing time. I can buy ANYTHING!
me: (okay, I interrupted and the smart ass came out) Could you buy some manners, please?
dad: (slams his fist on my desk) How dare you! I'll have your job.
me: (again the calm smart ass) You wouldn't like it I have to deal with too many unreasonable parents.
dad: (silently sits down... put his face in the palms of his hands and weeps) I'm a real jack-ass huh.
me: (I should have been more compassionate, but) well it's apparent you can be.
dad: Look my kid comes home crying every day because he (we're getting somewhere... I know it's a boy) says the coaches hate him, are mean to him and that's why he never plays.
me: Sir, you just opened the door for us to provide you son with some answers. Now we can't do anything until you have spoken with the coach. Have you done so?
dad: no
me: Well let's call him, put him on speaker so you can express your concerns. I'll stay in the room in case the jack-ass reappears.
dad: Thanks and by the way I'm sorry.
me: That's okay, but if you want to write me a check for anything else we might be able to figure something out.
dad: (laughs) No, that would probably get you and I both in trouble.