The Measure of an Athlete

The core of sport is competition. Teams compete against other teams. Athletes compete against other athletes. We continually play games against like-minded and equal-willed competitors to measure ourselves and our abilities. Those athletes who avoid or reject competition are destined to live a life outside of sports.

I was lucky enough to be chosen to coach a select baseball team of young athletes. Some of these boys will play for their respective high schools. By the looks of some of them, I will not be surprised if they play baseball beyond high school. It’s a nice looking squad and I am truly honored.

One of these young men (we’ll call him Fred) had commitments that conflicted with the first few practices of this team. During that time, we drilled the players and tried them out at a variety of positions. A number of players were so smooth and polished at their professed spots that they took the inside lane at winning those positions. In fact, most of the defensive spots were close to set by the time Fred joined us.

In fairness to Fred, I asked where he thought he might be able to contribute best to the team. We drilled him along with the other players who were vying to start at those positions. Fred came close to winning a start at first base, but he fell just short. His defensive and hitting mechanics were smooth, but another player was stronger and more consistent. In the end, Fred became a substitute.

Players compete for positions on teams. This process is ongoing and iterative. Teams form an original line-up based on internal competition. Then they adjust those line-ups as players get better or prove to be worse. We measure our players and their abilities in an effort to make our teams as successful as we can.

Fred decided to leave the team. He felt our selection process was unfair. He chose to quit rather than fight for a starting position.

Fred’s choice is similar to those made by athletes every day. Some athletes quit their chosen sport when they are young, while others leave when they are older. The Darwinian aspect cannot be ignored. In the end teams get better because they have a stronger group of players, and players get better because they compete against consistently better athletes. All of this is a bit sad because we would like to see everyone play, but reality is not that way.
The measure of an athlete is what sport is all about.