Growing up playing baseball in little league, it was just part of the game that some of the kids on the team couldn't catch, throw or hit. We were kinda used to it. When the ball went that way, you knew it wouldn't be an out. You just hoped it wouldn't be an in the park home run that started out as a ground ball to second base... I enjoyed the game starting out.
A very distinct memory I have is that when I made the high school baseball team, I started to experience baseball very differently. It didn't matter where the ball was hit. Every position was capable of making the play. We no longer had to put the fastest guy in a position to always back up the guy that never caught the ball. Each player could truly focus on their role and trust the entire team. Baseball got so much more enjoyable to play when you could trust your teammates. All of them.
When we put together a team we need to be very intentional about whether we are a rec team just giving people a chance to try something or are we a Varsity level team that is committed to playing with excellence?
We also must consider who we want to attract. The best ball players want to play with other good ball players. A star athlete isn't likely to stick around on a rec team very long when they can't trust their teammates on routine plays.
As coaches, we get to decide who plays and when they play. Do we want to attract the star Varsity player? Or, the kid that doesn't know which side of the plate to stand on when its time to hit?
Be the coach that will attract those players.
Build the team that will attract other great players.
That's where championships are built.
