trouble with senior players and thus concentration

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maverick

maverick

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trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Hi,

I have been playing for my club for couple of seasons now, however, I am having trouble getting along with one senior player of the team. He is always negative and his criticisim is no where close to being constructive in any shape. Even when I play a good innings or take a difficult catch, he tells me that I got lucky, rather than me doing well. I am not the only player he is negative towards though and to be honest it's having negative effect on my performance, confidence and I no longer look forward to practice. Even in social situations, he is just rude. Confronting him will not do me any good either. I don't know what to do, but I want to just play. :confused:

Thanks
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Hello and welcome. The easy answer is to rise above it but that is not always so easy. Ask yourself 'what is his problem' and you'll probably see that it's jealously. Do you have a players rep?
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Hey mas,
Thansk for the reply. Unfortunately, we don't have a rep, but there are few other senior players who are approachable. The person I am talking about also has input in team selection, so I am feeling extra pressure. Seems like there is nothing left to do than just blocking him out. *sigh*
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

It would be worth a quiet chat to others, explain what is going on and see what their feedback is. It might that he'll pick a new target soon or could be that he thinks you sleighted him. Whatever the cause it does seem that you need to do something unless you think you can ignore it.
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Hi Maverick,

I have seen this so many times and as mas says, it has always, always been because the senior player felt threatened, quite often with foundation. Do we assume you are a junior, playing senior cricket?

I don't know where you are located but if this is the case, over here in the UK, each club should have a Child Welfare Officer for all under 16/17 years old. Failing that, the Captain or Chairman of the Club should be approachable... or senior coach.

You need to find somebody you can talk to, somebody you know who is in a position and willing to sort this out. The worse thing you can do is moan about this guy to all and sundry at the club. It does not get the matter resolved and it makes it easier for the player in question to convince the others that you are a trouble maker... which you are not.

However, it does sound from what you have said, that this player has very poor person skills in general and probably does not realise what he is doing. I know you say that this player has an influence on selection but do you really need his approval? Does what he say really matter? Hopefully, you have other senior players there, giving you constructive comments. If so, listen to them and just smile at the other guy. You probably have the potential to be greater than him in so many different ways... and he probably knows it.
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Hey Ward,

Thanks for the help. I am no longer a junior, but I am one of younger guys in the club. There is another senior player that I can talk to about this, and I think I will do that. And as you said, I should just focus on my game instead of seeking his approval.

Thanks again
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

It is a difficult one.

How often is he being rude to you? If it's every now and then your probably just better off ignoring it. Hell, you wouldn't be the first person to play in a team that doesn't all like each other.

You also need to make sure your not being too sensitive, if his doing it to other people then he probably isn't targeting you as such and your best not to worry. But if his targeting you extensively then your best to speak to someone you trust. Has there been someone at the club for many years, like an old timer who you can get advice off?

I also need to emphasis that I have often had to deal with the same thing from my own team-mates. One incident lives long in my memory, it happened in 2003. I was inspecting the wicket with my team-mates and as it was a one day game I thought it wouldn't really make a difference whether we batted or bowled first. I said as much aloud and the other guy said "shut up [name], it's not like you do anything anyway" (I was an opening batsmenm he was the opening bowler).

I remember it like yesterday, because I thought it was an inappropiate thing to say especially in the tone it was delievered. I was in year 12 at the time, but the guy who said it was a flog. It was sad in a way, because at one point a few years earlier me and this guy were very good friends at boarding school.

To this day I don't know why he turned cold against me.
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Some times words come off the back of the hand and they are not meant. They're probably thought funny by the speaker as they left the brain but got a bit lost in translation somewhere between the mouth and the ear. Sometimes people feel they have a special relationship with another and think they can say anything and it will be taken in good faith. They don't always realise how some things hurt.
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Liz Ward;387847 said:
Some times words come off the back of the hand and they are not meant. They're probably thought funny by the speaker as they left the brain but got a bit lost in translation somewhere between the mouth and the ear. Sometimes people feel they have a special relationship with another and think they can say anything and it will be taken in good faith. They don't always realise how some things hurt.
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An unfortunate way of life. :(
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

I think its one of those things that happens at any club, I started playing senior cricket this year, after a break umpiring and you do get it a bit, but i tend to absorb the good advice and block out the bad, but most of them talk cr@p, so i just focus on my game. Through a bit of work, most of them have come around, and most of the senior members of the club support the younger blokes like myself
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

maverick;387747 said:
Hi,

I have been playing for my club for couple of seasons now, however, I am having trouble getting along with one senior player of the team. He is always negative and his criticisim is no where close to being constructive in any shape. Even when I play a good innings or take a difficult catch, he tells me that I got lucky, rather than me doing well. I am not the only player he is negative towards though and to be honest it's having negative effect on my performance, confidence and I no longer look forward to practice. Even in social situations, he is just rude. Confronting him will not do me any good either. I don't know what to do, but I want to just play. :confused:

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'd suggest talking to a senior player or coach about your concerns and see if something can be worked out.

We used to have a similar player at our club until our committee "encouraged" him to move on.
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

and if all else fails, you speak with other people and nothing changes, and you just cant deal with it anymore, then youve always got the option of changing clubs. you may not want to, and you shouldnt have to, but cricket is about having fun. so you just do what you need to in order to keep it that way. but obviously try to resolve the issues first, in some cases its even worth speaking with someone like this and just asking them what their problem is, and get it all on the table. but some people just arent reasonable and cant be dealt with this way. just go with whatever is in your best interests (keeping in mind that your best interests arent just having fun in a pleasant team, but also getting a game! so do your best not to jeopardise that).
 
Re: trouble with senior players and thus concentration

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice. For the past couple of weeks, I have just been ignoring the negativity and just focusing even harder on my performance, and it seems to be paying off so far. Also, other senior players encouraged me to keep it up as well :)
 
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