By Brian Kohen - AFC Lightning director of coaching
1) Are you coachable? Can you take criticism without looking for an alibi? Are you a know-it-all? Will you always try to improve?
2) Are you a positive team member? Do you contribute to team morale, or do you bellyache and complain? Are you up when things go your way, down when they don't? Do you support your teammates and coaches, or do you knock them?
3) Are you possessed with the spirit of competition that fires an intense desire to be successful? Do you never take "no" for an answer when there's a job to be done? Does it bother you to give less than 100%?
4) Are you mentally tough? When the going gets tough, do you get tougher? Does the screaming crowd or crucial situation shake you up - or make you rise to the challenge? Do you make excuses, or do you suck it up and get the job done?
5) How are you under pressure? Can you concentrate on what must be done? Can you shut out of your mind a previous failure, foul, or personal insult and give special attention to the play that is happening here and now?
6) Do you have a burning desire to improve? Are you eager to work hard on your skills - especially those you are weak in?
7) Are you willing to practice? Do you just put in your time, or do you practice with the same intensity you bring to the match?
8) Are you willing to make sacrifices?
9) Are you willing to be impersonal toward your opponent? Do you shut out such feelings as fear and anger, except to play as hard as possible within the rules?
10) Are you willing to fulfill your responsibility as an athlete? Do you recognize that attitude and actions - on and off the field - must be those of a class person representing a class program?