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Varsity Material
I was talking to a varsity coach not too long ago while watching an 8th grade practice. One girl was obviously better than the rest. Her volleyball skills allowed her to hit, set, serve, block and dig with apparent ease.
I commented to the coach that this girl would surely make the varsity team next year as a freshman. He said maybe, but that this particular player lacked the other two varsity characteristics. I was interested to hear about this, so I pressed him to explain. He said there are three varsity characteristics: varsity skills, varsity smarts and varsity maturity. Most players assume that if they acquire the varsity skills in a sport they are a shoe in to make the team. Sometimes this is true, sometimes not. It all depends on the other two. Some coaches will take such a player and be unable to develop the other two. Can you think of any college coaches and players where the player gets in trouble (with the law or whatever) and doesn’t stay on the team? Some coaches just do not have the patience and just won’t take a chance with the kid.
Varsity smarts is the ability to think in critical situations. Being able to perform an action is different than knowing when, where, and why. Being able to make the perfect pass in basketball is great except when it is intercepted. An outside hitter that can crush the ball, but consistently gets blocked when the tip was available is not too valuable to a team. A great setter is able to view the game as if from outside and know who, when and how to set her team mates in order to get the best chance at a kill. That is why you get the joke about the salesman selling two brains: a hitter for $100,000 and a setter for $10,000. Asked why the difference, he said, “Have to, the setter’s brain has been used so much more.”
Then we come to varsity maturity. The more mature a player is, the more valuable he is to the team. The team captain is usually a senior, but not necessarily. However, I can guarantee he will be the most mature on the team. Being a great player, but never being able to make it to practice on time, not being able to see the job through, worrying about his stats versus how well the team is doing is the mark of immaturity. If you can read the following and see how it applies to volleyball and how it should apply to you, then you are on the way to having all of the three varsity characteristics.
Maturity by Ann Landers
Maturity is many things.
Maturity is patience. It is the ability to base a judgement on the big picture, the long haul. It means being able to resist the urge for immediate gratification and opt for the course of action that will pay off later. One of the characteristics of the young is "I want it now." Grown-up people can wait.
Maturity is perseverance -- the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks, and stick with it until it is finished. The adult who is constantly changing jobs, changing friends and changing mates is immature. He cannot stick it out because he has not grown up.
Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle the differences without violence or destruction. The mature person can face unpleasantness, frustration, discomfort and defeat without collapsing or complaining. He knows he can't have everything his own way every time. He is able to defer to circumstances, to other people -- and to time. He knows when to compromise and is not too proud to do it.
Maturity is humility. It is being big enough to say, "I was wrong." And when he is right, the mature person need not experience the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so."
Maturity is the ability to live up to your responsibilities, and this means being dependable. It means keeping your word. Dependability is the hallmark of integrity. Do you mean what you say -- and do you say what you mean? Unfortunately, the world is filled with people who cannot be counted on. When you need them most, they are among the missing. They never seem to come through in the clutches. They break promises and substitute alibis for performance. They show up late or not at all. They are confused and disorganized. Their lives are a chaotic maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business and good intentions that somehow never materialize. They are always a day late and a dollar short.
Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it. Immature people spend their lives exploring endless possibilities and then do nothing. Action requires courage. Without courage, little is accomplished.
Maturity is the ability to harness your abilities and your energies and do more than is expected. The mature person refuses to settle for mediocrity. He would rather aim high, miss the mark than aim low --, and make it.
Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which should be changed, no matter what it takes, and the wisdom to know the difference.
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