I had the opportunity to watch parts of a softball tournament last weekend and a player from one of the St. Louis teams made a comment that brought back memories from my own playing days. The comment, "My bad." A once prevalent saying amongst teammates has fallen by the wayside. The comment is so simplistic, but shares so much about the person speaking it.
A ball hit to short, fielded and thrown high to 1st base. The first baseman jumps with the ball barely nicking the glove and carrying on to the fence. First basemen runs down the ball, gets it back in the circle, and simply says, "My bad." That's right....the first basemen says it. It is a concept that needs to be renewed. Was it technically the first basemen's fault the play wasn't made, no, but by taking responsibility it helps the thrower of the errant toss relax and continue to play. Some argue that you should not take responsibility for a bad play if it isn't your fault. I like to look at the bigger picture. A simple statement may diffuse the emotions of the person who really fell short allowing them to play more focused. The person taking responsibility may work harder to come up with those difficult plays helping out their teammate and their team later on.
It is funny how seemingly little things spread throughout a team, good and bad. Once one person steps up and takes responsibility for themselves or maybe even someone else, I believe it will spread like wildfire. People take responsibility for their play and everyone else rallies around them instead of grinding the mistake into their teammate who already feels bad.
If you agree, I hope you will put this line of thinking into practice. If you totally disagree all I can say is, "my bad."
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