For the Players

This one is for the kids. One thing that irritates a coach more than anything is, "can I play, can I pitch, what inning are we in, how many outs, whats the score, who's winning". First of all, PAY ATTENTION to the game. If you know the inning, the score, the outs, then you may have a better opportunity to play. Please quit asking to get in the game. The best way to ask to play is to perform at practice. Show that you want it!!! We had a game last week. I must say that we did lose however it wasn't the loss that bothered me. It was the attention to the game that was horrible. The entire game we got plenty of, "can I plays". We finally made some changes. When we come back in from the field we were missing a couple of players. The player up to bat was evidently at the concession stand, that cost us an out, so after specifically telling each player when they were batting we go back into the field. Just before the pitch I look out and we have NO right fielder. I look in the dugout and ask who is suppose to be in right field. "I am coach", I reply, "then what the heck are you doing in the dugout!!!!!!!" Then I realize that the reason we are lacking attention in this game. We actually had 2 players in the dugout listening to there ipods during the game. As you can tell, very frustrating as a coach. These are teenagers. Whats the problem? No wonder we aren't winning. These kids have no drive to push themselves or others to be good. All I or any coach ask is that if you want to play this game, then be involved in whats going on, if you want to start, then be involved in the game being played. I assure you that you can learn more about this game from being observant during a game that you can in most practices. This game is not all about catching and hitting. I love this game for the strategy behind it. To a coach it's a lot like a chess match. The players are your pieces. As you can imagine it is very hard to win a chess match with a bunch a pawns. Your really need the King, Queen, Bishops, Castles, etc.

Your child is not as good as you think he is.

Of course we all think our child is great. Parents, there comes a point when it's time to be realistic about your child's abilities on the field. Keep in mind that most of the time your child's coach spends 4 to 5 days a week with your child on the field. He has seen the efforts given and the results of those efforts on a daily basis. We all love our children and want the best for them. Are we really teaching our children that in order to get a starting position that mom or dad just have to complain enough to the coach. Shouldn't we be teaching them to work hard and practice. Not only that but to be good losers. If your child is beat out of a position then you as parents should encourage your child to work harder. Believe it or not, 9 out of 10 times your child knows exactly what is keeping him or her from becoming a starter. So as a gauge for you parents. If you look at your child's team. Find the player that you feel has about half the ability your child. That is the ability of your child. In other words, your child is only half as good as you think he or she is. I know, tough to hear. Do us coaches a favor. Encourage your kids to work hard, give effort, be respectful, and practice. This will get your child more playing time.

This is NOT Little League anymore!!!!!

At a game the other day and the team that I am helping coach loses. So after the game a parent approaches the coaches and tells us that her son made those errors because we, the coaches, were not talking him through every play. I wanted to say, "THIS IS NOT LITTLE LEAGUE ANYMORE". We are talking about middle schoolers. Parents, by now your child should know that if he catches the ball at 3rd base and there are runners on 1st and 2nd all he has to do is touch 3rd to get the out. Evidently not, we as coaches are responsible for holding your child's hand through each and every play. Forget the fact that we practice 5 days a week and that a small play like this is something I was teaching t-ballers. It is the responsibility of the player to ask themselves, "what am I gonna do if I get the ball", before it comes to them. There is not enough time between pitches to ask all 9 players each and every pitch. Your child may be the fastest and have the strongest arm, however if they don't know the situational part of the game, they have no business being on the field. Yes the coach is responsible for teaching these kids what to do in certain situations. Please get it through your head that the coach is not completely at fault when your son makes a mental error. Your son isn't as perfect as you think he his.

Parent Expectations

With all my coaching experience, nothing prepares you to handle the many different personalities of parents. As with most coaches I will usually begin my season with a meeting involving both the parents and the players. During this meeting we go over the obvious introductions and then we get to the particulars that the parents never like to hear. I hand out 2 forms, my "player expectations" and "parent expectations". I do this so that the parents as well as the players know exactly what I expect from them. Below I have listed a few of these expectations:

PLAYER EXPECTATIONS

1. Have Fun - Baseball is a great game if your having fun.

2. Win and Lose with class - Be respectful on and off the field, win or lose.

3. Give 100% - not only in games but also in practice "practice makes permanent"

4. Respect the umpire - Just like you make errors, so do the umpires. "an umpire will NOT cause you to lose a game".

PARENT EXPECTATIONS

1. Enjoy watching your kids - The time will come when they will no longer be playing.

2. Win and Lose with class - Be respectful on and off the field, win or lose.

3. Respect the umpire - Just like your child makes errors, so do the umpires. "an umpire will NOT cause you to lose a game".

4. Respect the coaches - They are very underpaid as it is. Most of them are volunteers. Appreciate the fact they are willing to spend the time with your child.

5. Don't put your child in an uncomfortable situation - Please allow your child to listen to the coaches. Don't put your child in a position that he or she has to chose between listening to the coach or the parent.

6. Coaches can be ejected due to the behavior of the parents.

7. The coaches way may not be the right way but it is his or her way - allow the coach to coach his or her team as they see fit.

As you can see, the parent expectations is much longer than the player expectations. This is because the parents are much harder to manage than the players. In most cases during the meeting the parents are nodding there heads as if they were agreeing with every expectation. They will actually come to me after the meeting tell me how happy they are that I have addressed these issues. Yet, when it comes to game time, they will be the first ones to break one of the expectations. How do I handle it? You ask. I just redistribute the expectations form to the particular parent.

To sum up. Parents, sit back, get some peanuts, a coke, and enjoy the game the way it is suppose to be enjoyed. Stay out of the coaching and be a parent.

Welcome to "The Coaches Mouth"

Well, here we go. I am begininng this blog to let the parents of children playing baseball know what the coach really wants to tell the parents.

Allow me to give you a little background on myself. I've been involved in baseball in some way for more than 30 years. I have been coaching all ages from t-ball to high school for more than 15 years. Yes, in those years there have been many things that I would have loved to tell parents that at the time was obviously not "politically correct".

I hope that you will follow, comment, and enjoy.