|
I’m not sorry to see Tejada go.
I am sorry that the Orioles were (past tense) such a train-wreck of an organization that he could see the team was going nowhere and which rightfully frustrated him.
But such attitudes don’t when you’re trying to turn around a team. Such a vet’s attitude has an effect on the whole team.
In 2000 I was asked to come out of coaching retirement and take over our high school’s cross country team which was 12th out of 12 in the county. The team had become a social club – something to enjoy after school.
When I took over and instituted very long runs, drills on hills, etc. some of the veterans objected. The second week of practice, I sent the runners out, then jumped in my car and drove to the other side of the school where seven veterans were already walking. They represented most of the team’s best runners. I told them to turn in their uniforms the next day.
Three years later, if a rookie was goofing off during practice, the team captains took him/her on the side and basically said, “Quitters never win because winners never quit.” We were North County champions and were 15th in the top AAAA division in the State Meet.
We would never have gotten there with those seven bad attitudes.
Likewise, Tejada had to go
|
