High school teams come with different personality types

Look around today. What do you see?

I don't mean grass and trees and buildings. That's too obvious.

I know what I see when I walk into the Daily Herald office each day, and it doesn't matter where I look.

I am surrounded by a fascinating variety of personality types.

That's also what happens when you walk into any high school classroom or join any athletic team or student activity.

When a group of people assembles for any reason, some distinct personality types will be present.

I can imagine what goes through a high school coach's mind when he or she looks out at the faces of the eager candidates at the start of every season.

That's particularly true at the underclass levels. There hasn't been enough time to develop a personality "book" on the newcomers.

Maybe the coach watched them occasionally at the feeder level, but that's not a good gauge of what to expect when they enter high school.

The coach knows that a majority of the new athletes will be enthusiastic, cooperative and responsive to instructions.

The coach also knows there may be some serious challenges in the group, the problem players who fight the system and require a lot of personal attention.

By the time these athletes become juniors or seniors, any coach should have a good idea of what to expect at practice.

I thought about this when I watched for at least the fifth time the outstanding movie "Remember the Titans."

Based on the 1971 struggle that occurred when three high schools and two races were integrated into one, the story focuses on the school board's decision to replace the long-standing white football coach with a black coach, played by Denzel Washington.

Movies and television (think "Friday Night Lights") always offer the usual cross section of young athletes in their scripts, and, yes, they come complete with all the clichés.

"Remember the Titans" is loaded with personalities.

Anyone who has ever participated in high school sports knows what I'm talking about.

Think about your time in high school sports. See if any of these personality types sound familiar:

• Who can forget the whiner, the person who complains about everything?

I was on track and field teams with guys who would complain about the number of laps they had to run, the time practice was scheduled, the workout regimen of their own events, and even the cinders (remember, this was the 1950s) on our track.

The whiners like to tell everyone on the team what's wrong with the entire experience and then blame the coaches for everyone having a bad time.

Whiners never look in the mirror.

• The non-talkers also create a tough situation for the coach.

I didn't say much as a high school athlete, but I wasn't so shy that I looked like I was bored.

Non-talkers can drive coaches crazy because they don't give a clue on what they're thinking. Are they having fun?

Coaches want to build a sense of rapport and trust with every athlete, but that's tough to do when the lines of communication aren't there.

• Athletes who simply don't pay attention to coaches also can create major problems.

I knew athletes who would make our track practices a daily struggle. They always seemed to be interrupting teammates, turning the spotlight away from practice and onto themselves.

• The star with a big ego can become a major headache for coaches, even at the lower levels.

Stars really set the tone on any high school team, and morale will crumble if there are special rules for the top athletes.

If an athlete thinks he or she is above everybody else on the team, the entire system suffers.

Any team benefits when the stars talk to everyone, compliment others, notice and comment on other contributions and deal with the same rules as their teammates.

How do you rate yourself as a high school athlete? I'm not talking about your ability.

Are you a whiner, non-talker, short attention-span athlete, egocentric star?

Or none of the above?

If you said yes to any of those descriptions, you have some work to do or you could disrupt your entire team.

Deal with your difficulties.

bfrisk@dailyherald.com