Why Excuses are So Bad
Excuses hurt teams, not just because they waste time and kill team morale (and a coach’s morale), but because they reveal that the player making them has a very off-line focus. An excuse-maker can’t possibly be using his energy thinking about how to enhance what is going on or about to go on because, obviously, he is putting his time into explanations and justifications.
Maybe, in this context, you can better understand why a good coach hates excuses so much. When a player makes an excuse, especially on the court, it’s hard for his coach to even think about the excuse itself.
He gets a frown on his face before he even begins to hear the explanation. He frowns for the misplaced energy, not the reasoning.
This point ought to be compelling. If you truly wish to be a special athlete on a special team, you don’t have time for excuses. You need all the time you can possibly muster to focus on things that will keep enhancing your team’s activities in new and exciting ways.
Book excerpt from Dick DeVenzio‘s book, Runnin’ The Show
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