The Quick-Fix Guy

I’m sure someone in your family fits the mold of the quick-fix guy. I think I qualify in my family. When my son, Sam, and grandson, Jacob, lived under the same roof, having a functional Wii Game System was essential to keeping the peace.

If the system went down, it was my job to get it fixed as quickly as possible. I found my ace-in-the-hole to fix the Wii or any other game system. His name was John and he worked out of his house. John was fast and very inexpensive. I could have the boys up and running in no time.

Just this week, I had a major crisis with our pound-dog, Wolfie. We have a wireless fence containment system to keep Wolfie from chasing cars. Actually, I have two units, and they aren’t cheap. I noticed Wolfie was extending his boundaries. That usually means his batteries are going bad.

Not this time. The power cord was missing and the unit was unplugged. No problem, since I have a second unit. It was then I realized someone had walked in the house, ignored televisions, computers, and cash just to steal my wireless fence system. What kind of thief does that?

I quickly assumed my quick-fix attitude. Within an hour, I had a second power cord headed our way with one-day shipping. Wolfie will only have to be tied up for one day. If I had bought an attack dog instead of a stupid mutt from the pound, I could have fixed my thief problem.

Every sport team needs a quick-fix person. Sometimes it’s the coach, sometimes it’s a player. During the women’s basketball team’s great run to the Final Four in 2011, it appeared the chemistry on the team was rock solid. I wish I could claim credit. Even the closest team may need a quick-fix guy.

After the season, I found out one player pretty much policed the chemistry. There was one instance where a player that was redshirting came to practice under the influence. Before she could hit the practice floor, this player sent her home and told me she went home sick. What could have been a nasty incident was solved by a player’s vision.

I found out early in my coaching career about the need for a quick-fix guy. My first year as a head coach had gone smooth as silk. We won a lot of games, all my good players were returning for the following year, and the parents were happy and excited.

I thought if I kept things the same, I would get the same results. I couldn’t have been more wrong. My point guard played the season pregnant, my sophomore star received too much press, and the seniors hated it. Dissention overcame the team.

What did I do? I kept the things exactly the same. The result was an early exit from the post season, players that had a miserable five months, and parents who were upset and glad the season was over. Why didn’t I try to fix the problem?

Sometimes, even a quick-fix guy can’t help. Early in my 15 years at Doane College, I had a great team that had 17- and 13-game winning streaks. I had two post players who would score their 1,000th career points during the year. The problem was one started and one came off the bench.

It was working great during our first winning streak, but the starting post player got sick and missed a week of games and practices. During that time, the backup averaged more than 20 points per game and scored her 1,000th point.

With my great wisdom, I put the sick player back into the lineup when she was healthy enough to play. I told the team someone can’t lose her starting job to illness. That’s the problem with rules; they get in the way of success. The sick player never fully recovered and the benched substitute was disappointed and angry. She played poorly the rest of the way. Despite my quick fix, we lost our first game in the postseason and finished with a 30-3 record.

You just never know when you need a quick fix and which quick fix to use. There’s a chance of failure. Just take the Kansas City Royals. They were rolling with a record that was 31 games over .500. They traded for a Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist, which looked like great quick fixes.

Despite all the success, things recently have started to fall apart. Was it the chickenpox that sidelined two starters for 10 days? Was it the change in the batting ordered that put the leadoff hitter to the No. 9 spot in the order? Could it be when they took Jeremy Guthrie out of the rotation in favor of Johnny C?

I don’t have the quick fix. October baseball is just around the corner. The Royals need a quick-fix guy.