But what does the coach do about the player with the low care factor? Especially when this player is highly talented, media and fans are covering him with adoration, and the player is living in a state of delusion about his real contributions both to his own career and the fortunes of the team.
How do you turn a player around who does not care? How do players get like this? Did we give them too much too early; too much exposure, too much adoration, too much money? Do we fill their lives with too many distractions away from training and playing that can have them mentally exhausted by game day and unable to perform? Did we create the false impression that success in this game comes easily and that talent can replace hard work, toughness and desire? Is it our fault? Should we be doing more to help them? Or is it up to the player? Do we just hit him with reality and see how he handles the truth?
The problem here is that quite often these days if a coach admonishes, criticises or as a last resort drops a talented player, his manager is on the phone defending the player and blaming others for player's failings. It's never his client's fault. How does the player learn, how do they change, if people keep justifying and supporting the poor attitude they possess?
Like I said, the vast majority of players in the game today, and those kids aspiring to be in the game one day, are highly motivated, self-motivated, hard-working, resilient young men who give 100 per cent of themselves in everything they do. They are a pleasure to play with, and a pleasure to coach.
Maybe that's the answer. Just pick those players.
