Even back in my small farm town high school, there were great athletes who simply couldn't handle the pressure of practice, let alone the far greater stress of games. There was a 6-5 guy, a real player—and 6-5 is huge in small high schools—who quit halfway through his first practice because he couldn't handle being loudly corrected by our intense coach. But that same coach is still my friend over 40 years later.
Just because something's simple doesn't mean it's easy to do. Getting over the hump of not taking things personally and being self-aware is one of the biggest hurdles an athlete can overcome.
Even back in my small farm town high school, there were great athletes who simply couldn't handle the pressure of practice, let alone the far greater stress of games. There was a 6-5 guy, a real player—and 6-5 is huge in small high schools—who quit halfway through his first practice because he couldn't handle being loudly corrected by our intense coach. But that same coach is still my friend over 40 years later.
Just because something's simple doesn't mean it's easy to do. Getting over the hump of not taking things personally and being self-aware is one of the biggest hurdles an athlete can overcome.