What qualities do coaches look for in high school athletes?

I have never coached any sport.

Let's get that out of the way first.

I admire all coaches but never had the desire to join their ranks.

I didn't even coach my daughter's softball teams. I was the official scorekeeper all those summers but never volunteered to coach the girls.

Daughter Susan was good enough on offense and defense to be a contributor on all her softball teams, so I didn't have to second-guess the coaches and their decisions on how they used her in the lineup.

It was hard not to coach a little in my mind as I watched all those games, but I never said anything to the people in charge. I let them take care of the X's and O's and the pep talks.

My job as a scorekeeper was to write down such important details as 6-3, F8 and K and make sure the right batter was up.

I have been around coaches at all levels and have watched them operate for 49 years in this job -- and many more before that as a fan and an athlete. That's a priceless education in observing this valuable and challenging profession.

I will admit that many times I have wondered what I would look for if I was the man in charge?

What would be the necessary attributes in the athletes on my roster?

Let me put on my coach's hat for one day.

I obviously would want athletes with some degree of skill. I'm not going to be a dumb coach.

I also know you're not going to have a roster filled with nothing but all-area players.

My coaching needs would go far beyond that. If I had to focus on three things in those young players standing before me on the first day of practice, I would pick intelligence, energy and responsibility.

The athlete who behaves and reacts intelligently belongs on my team. This covers the whole area of knowing what to do and when to do it.

Intelligent basketball players, for example, will not take shots they know they can't make.

Intelligent athletes know things about themselves that improve the way they play.

Intelligent athletes also know things about the opponents.

The second thing I would want in the players on my team would be energy.

I want young boys and girls who would have the energy to work hard at what we're doing in practice and during games.

Nobody performs at high efficiency when they are tired. I speak from experience as a morning and early-afternoon person.

I hit the wall in late afternoon, show a slight recovery over dinner and then slump again unless I'm re-energized at a high school event.

If you have the energy, you do everything harder and always find a way to keep going. When it's late in the action and you feel you may be too tired to even move, you find a way to move.

I now have intelligent and high-energy athletes on my team. We're looking good … so far.

There's a third virtue in high school athletes I think is very important.

I would want to coach responsible girls and boys.

When you see what you have to do and then do it, you are being responsible. You may not want to always do it, but you must understand its importance in the team concept.

The responsible athlete has control over his or her thoughts, actions and feelings.

That's the kind of player I want on my team.

The responsible athletes are responsible for the consequences of their actions.

The responsible athletes are dependable, fulfill their obligations, exercise self-control and don't make excuses for their mistakes.

They use good judgment and show self-control.

Intelligence.

Energy.

Responsibility.

OK, coach, check your roster.

How many athletes come to practice every day with those three virtues?