Sippin' on the haterade

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by Garret

My problem with some of those teams is not the students (I will never hold anything against the students), my problem is with mentors from certain teams.

The fish rots from the head down. It does seem like a lot of negative behavior is initiated / driven / supported by the adults whether they be mentors, or parents just dragging in attitude like you might see at a SEC conference game. It is up to the adults and student leaders to set the standard, set the tone, and create the culture inside the team where trash talk isn't tolerated. What happens is teams allow a negative culture to thrive in their shop 51 weeks of the year and there is no quenching it during competition week, no matter how hard they try. The students are just following the adult / student leaders example.

Originally Posted by Garret

For a team member who has put in countless hours of work this pin is in my opinion a joke. When team members were given medals they could always show them off at school and get some recognition from their peers and feel good about what they did.

Rule #1 of volunteerism : never do anything seeking gratitude, you will surely be disappointed. Find your own intrinsic reasons, follow your internal compass, and be satisfied. If someone else recognizes what you are up to, then all the better.