Hey Kids: Shut the $#*@ Up!

What is up with the bad attitudes of kids these days? Do they really think they are God's gift to whatever they do? Guess again.

Now I know, I've only been on this planet for just less than a quarter century, and I have learned a lot in those years. One of the things I've learned: You're never going to stop learning. Believe me. I have held many jobs and many roles: rookie, veteran, mentor... starter, backup, bench-warmer (shut it, Joel)... butcher, baker (haven't been a candlestick maker-- but there's still time)... student, assistant, instructor... hockey, soccer, baseball... etc, etc, etc.

Last week I was wroking the Rick Heinz Goalie School-- for the second time. The first day of camp, the head instructor (who plays in the CHL) comes into the lockerroom and says "these kids have terrible attitudes, I'm afraid to go back out there". He was right. The kids didn't want to listen, and worse yet, they were terrible-- as in perhaps the RHGS was too advanced for them.

It seems all kids do these days is make excuses: my equipment won't let me do that; my shoulder hurts; I just don't feel like it. I got a message for you kids: sit down, shut up, and listen. You're going to learn-- and don't expect us to be all nice about it. When you get into the real world nobody is going to come up to you and say: "It's ok that you failed, because we wanted you to do something new, and we could tell your heart wasn't really into it."

I enjoy working as a coach, or instructor. Why? Because not only do I get an opportunity to pass on my knowledge, but it also gives me a chance to work on my weaknesses, AND I still learn new things. Why am I so engaging on a message board? Beacuse I want to share what I know, offer what I believe to somebody else, and hear what others have to say. Knowledge is power, and it is the key to growing stonger.

I was talking to my dad about a year ago-- and I asked him: "Do you have days where you feel like you're ten years-old?" His answer? Yes, just about every day. It's amazing, here I am feeling immature, or like I've been belittled... and my dad-- 30 years older than me-- has the same feeling. What does that say about him? It says he's still a kid at heart, he's still maturing, and he's still learning.

The worst feeling I ever had in sports, was when I coached an under-8 soccer team. And you know kids at that age-- don't listen, want to do their own thing. Well, I told the kids on the bench to sit down, watch the game, and cheer on their teammates. And a parent runs up to me yelling at me, "you can't tell my kid what to do." WTF? I'm a coach-- if I can't tell your kid what to do, I'm useless as a coach... See ya! And I turned my back on 7 year old kids playing a game I love. All because someone felt the need to tell me he was better than I was. I was 16 years old. I didn't turn my back on the kids completely-- I had just started coaching a U-12 team, and I enjoyed that much more... because they listened, and were willing to learn.

When are kids and parents going to learn that is not about whose ass you kiss, and how much money you have. It's about discipline. It's about a willingness to keep quite, forget your personal indiffrences, take the experience as it is, and learn from it. Those who learn, prosper. And so I ask... parents, kids, everyone-- listen to what others have to say. You may not agree with it, but the enlightenment makes you stronger.

To deny the existence of contrary opinion is to deny the existence of truth.