One of the things I always try to tell young players is to be happy when you do well but not be satisfied. While this sounds like a contradiction, it is not. You don’t have to be satisfied to be happy.
I’ll use myself as an example. I’ve lost about 20 lbs since the first of the year and have kept it off. I am happy about that. However, to lose another 30 lbs, I can’t be satisfied. Once someone is satisfied with their behavior, it will not be modified.
Another example, I am happy AND satisfied with my choice of a spouse. Therefore, the behavior involved with finding a mate is over.
Players should be encouraged to try and improve themselves no matter how good they currently play. Once they think they are good enough, they are done improving until they either find out they aren’t or decide to quit.
This is one of the reasons why sports can be a positive influence on kids. If they are encouraged to try and improve in sports and then succeed in improving this experience provides a valuable life lesson.
Conveying this lesson properly is tricky, however. You want the player to be happy but not satisfied. One of the best ways to do this is to make sure as a parent or coach you mark real improvement in the player. Not improvement in comparison to other kids but their improvement. A youngster who strikes out constantly in the beginning of a season but ends it by making contact 90% of the time is improving. This is true regardless of whether he gets a hit all year or not. Sure, in comparison to other kids he is not improving his average. However, using his performance as a benchmark, that player is improving.
Don’t have a soccer mentality that says winning or losing or getting a hit isn’t a big deal. Dealing with adversities and persevering through struggles are skills useful in life. If a player is happy because he did his best without being satisfied with the results will eventually find that the struggle to improve is just as important as the result.
