The power of Entitlement

The entitlement of youth athletes affects a team as a whole in various ways It can either be a negative or a positive thing; it all depends. Growing up as a baseball player I’ve been taught 'nothing will ever be handed to me,' no matter what circumstances I am living through. There is always going to be one player that is better than everyone else who will also receive certain perks and benefits, which can bring a whole team down. Sometimes, players will not play to their full potential if they notice their teammate(s) receiving special treatment. Being a younger athlete, I have experienced each effect personally.Playing with athletes who felt entitled brought our team's morale down tremendously. So much that coaches would not even recognize what was going on. Resulting in coaches being clueless as to how to mend their team's bond back together. Players notice when coaches favor one player causing their work ethic to go out the window. Once players realize their hard work is not being noticed, their confidence goes away, taking their love for the game with it. Losing the love and passion for the sport you put so much time and effort into can end a player's career faster than they want. It seems to be dramatic to blame a player's short career due to one bad experience of having a spoiled or entitled teammate, but it does happen. It does not only happen when we are younger. It still occurs right now at the high school level. Many players will quit playing two weeks, or even two days before season is over; all because entitled teammates do not realize how much of a negative impact they have, on their fellow teammates. Since athletes already have certain privileges, being entitled and spoiled by coaches just adds more negativity to a team. It may make athletes feel like they do not have to abide by the same rules and regulations as other teammates. They become big headed, arrogant, and a major ego resulting to them expecting special treatment. But it is hard/impossible to be called a "TEAM" when a teammate is not buying into the program or excepting to be coached differently. Entitled players bring more negative vibes than positive ones.However, there are players and teams who do not allow their surroundings to get the best of them. Yet, nobody is perfect and entitled players end up being favored anyways. Though, this occurs a lot, I have played with teams who do not let that stop them from working hard everyday. If anything, seeing a player be entitled and favored, makes other players as well as myself work harder, and push harder day in and day out. Every young athlete should be coached equally no matter what their talents are, and there are teams who are coached in such a positive environment. And it is in those teams where having players who feel "entitled" don't affect the team at all.
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