YES -- I Do Play Favorites!

Have you ever been accused by a parent of "playing favorites" on your diving team? I think every coach has at one time or another. Of course, the complaining parent is almost always the parent of the diver who is NOT among the "favorites."

Well my answer to this nonsense is "YES -- I DO PLAY FAVORITES!"

• My favorites are the divers who come to practice on time; all the time.
• My favorites are the divers who do what I ask them to do it without complaining.
• My favorites are the divers who are eager and willing to hear what I have to say.
• My favorites are the divers who bring a good attitude and positive energy to practice.
• My favorites are the divers who want to get better -- no matter what.
• My favorites are the divers who work hard; who try hard and who pay attention to me.
• My favorites are the divers who give great effort all the time (without me having to constantly badger them!!)
• My favorites are the kids who try and try and try again.
• My favorites are the kids who stay late to get in extra work on the trampoline or dry board or in the gym.

Yes -- these are my favorites. Now to become one of my favorites, all a diver needs to do is show up; work hard; try hard, do their best and pay attention to me. If you pay attention to me, then I will most likely pay attention to you. I would much rather work with a total non-athlete who really wants to become a better diver than a physically gifted, super athlete who thinks they know it all and can do it all by themselves.

I DO NOT, CAN NOT and WILL NOT reward lack of effort, bad attitudes, disruptive behavior, or the like. I ignore these things (READ: I do not pay attention to these divers -- i.e. certainly not one of my favorites). So to paraphrase Bo Diddley "before you accuse me, take a look at your (kid)!"