The Bush League Antidote

I used to laugh every time I heard, “That’s Bush League.” I don’t even know what I thought that phrase meant but thanks to the advent of the search engine, my ignorance has been abated. Bush league means novice, unprofessional or amateurish. Once upon a time there were minor league baseball teams, many of whom played their games in ballparks that were anything but major league caliber. They often had bushes aligning the perimeter and were aptly dubbed, “Bush League Baseball.”

So enter the Bush League mindset of the high school athlete that longs for a coach’s interference. The range of credible excuses for not meeting a coach’s expectations include but are not limited to:

• I forgot my athletic clothes at home
• I have more important obligations
• I wasn’t THAT late
• I CAN’T get a physical exam until at least a week from now
• My parents say I can’t stay after school
• I’m sore, cramping or hurt so much more than the others that I can’t run a timed mile today
• My grades are better than what the teachers say. They will be different after all my work is recorded.

That’s Bush League bro. It’s amateurish and if there’s an ounce of humility in any of us we know that we all still find it convenient to proliferate the smoke and mirrors act that is pardoning oneself from what is expected of our team members. But regarding the youngsters, we coaches have to decide to train them from Bush to Major leagues or leave them prepped for stalled maturation. Sports is supposed to teach lessons not produce repetitive cycles indicative of a lifetime of entitlement and coddling. I’m down with Bush League but only if it’s the path and not the destination.