Criticizing from player to player

Players pride themselves on and off the court. Performance is big to them, and admitting issues and problems in various aspects of their game can be hard. It can become a big issue if someone else points out to them, especially if the other person is a teammate. There is a proper time, place and method to discuss issues with teammates and not doing it properly can cause fights and arguments that could otherwise be avoided. Starting a fight over things as silly as player to player comparisons is one of the biggest issues today.

When players are practicing, they can occasionally stand back and watch others and pick out issues and errors that the players being watched may not see themselves. While you may be able to pick out these issues, it is a whole new ball game to tell the player or players involved properly how to fix it. Comparing it to how you do it can be a good way, but making it a competition can be a mistake. What you need to ensure that happens is that the discussion stays friendly and constructive. Coaches need to keep a certain distance here and let players help each other, but be close enough to ensure that nothing wrong goes down, and if it does it gets dealt with quickly.

As a player, you should always be out to assist your teammates wherever it is possible. Players know each other, and usually know specific ways to deal with each other. Coaches, while they know how to deal with players, sometimes are best leaving it to teammates. The discussions usually work as long as it stays professional and proper. If a player requires more work than a simple few words from his teammates, it may be in the cards for the coach to take the player aside and work with him one on one. This allows the player to get some one on one help without feeling like his teammates are picking on him. Sometimes genuine and heartfelt advice is mistaken to be criticism and can lead to the above discussed responses.

Players can also go over the line, and when that happens the criticising player is responsible and tasked with resolving the situation. Not every single person will do things perfect every single time. It’s the coaches, players, and other team staff that learns from the mistakes and grows. Its part of the process of team development, and is helped with player on player development.

Some of the best sources of advice are your fellow teammates, and while getting caught up in competition, you may occasionally feel like people are being picky or trying to make you look bad, your teammates are 99% of the time just trying to look out for you and help you wherever and however they can. It’s up to you whether or not you choose to take the advice or not, but really at the end of the day, it never hurts to try!