Comments on: Coaching Advice

By: shamster test

shamster test — Sat, 14 May 2011 04:42:54 +0000

Thanks for posting this good article!

By: Leland

Leland — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:35:43 +0000

Don’t beat a team 17-1 when 10-1 will do.

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:39:18 +0000

I’m in my fourth year of coaching my son. Last year, his last year of tee-ball, he almost quit the game forever, because of me. Fortunately, God gave us both a second chance, and a fresh perspective on what the game should be.

I see lots of terrible behavior at games, and it all comes from the adults. My experience tells me that the parents will follow the lead of the coach– if the coach rides the umpires, so will the parents. If the coach loves and encourages the kids, so will the parents. And if the coach does not lead, then the parents will follow the lead of whoever in the stands is the loudest, for better or worse.

By: Cheryl Russell

Cheryl Russell — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:48:26 +0000

Great Post! I love the smell of baseball. When I was a kid, I would constantly stick my face in my glove and take in a long breath of that soft leather. Even now, that smell takes me back to those afternoons warming up with my dad or standing under the lights of the stadium watching the bats chase the bugs. My favorite baseball movie: The Natural.

By: cwinwc

cwinwc — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:36:55 +0000

Mike – I’m on the other end of the spectrum having just a couple of weeks ago, watched my son play his last High School Baseball game. He is now trying to play a the next level and in fact, has a tryout at Oklahoma Christian the weekend of May 16.

My mantra for him as a power-hitting Second Baseman, “Middle / Backside.”

By: Jamie B

Jamie B — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:00:35 +0000

Mike,
Don’t know if you’ve seen this yet, but thought you’d appreciate it, especially timely for this post.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3380875

By: Byron

Byron — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:52:28 +0000

Since I coach for a living, would you please stand up and tell that dad to “get up or shut up!” I understand your profession might not allow you to do so, but the coaches of the world appreciate parents like you.

By: happy

happy — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:24:10 +0000

When I was 5 my grandpa took me to Chavez Ravine to see the greatest left hand pitcher of all time (homer here). I was hooked and had season tickets for a few years in the late 70′s during the Cey, Russell, Lopes & Garvey infield years. Saturday i’ll be a Chavez Ravine getting a kitchen pass from Mom from our usually me fly out from Texas Mother’s Day Weekend. Tried to talk her into a Sunday matinée but she quit going to games after having to live in minor league towns like Allentown & Houston when my dad played.

Favorite advice: sooner or later your going to have to swing at it so you might as well do it now and get it out of the way.

By: Connie C.

Connie C. — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:26:45 +0000

My husband is the BEST coach I have ever seen. He teaches the boys to LOVE the game of baseball. Takes them to see the Tigers, gives them baseball cards to collect,asks them what games they have been watching,etc… He makes them love drills by making them yell out things like “who loves to run?”….”we love to run!”. They eat it up! In his six years of coaching L.L. he has had three championship teams and two second place teams….never had to raise his voice. Kids won’t play well if they hate the game! Yelling makes them hate the game.

By: Quiara

Quiara — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:37:36 +0000

I played T-Ball through softball for years as a kid. Then, even when I got older, I’d still play in the camper-counselor softball game at CRYC. I’m in no way an athlete, especially not anymore, but I loved the game. I still love watching — especially now that my 7 y/o nephew plays. He loves every minute.

And I’m with you on the Yankees.

By: Leland

Leland — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:06:25 +0000

I played football in a small West Texas town and now am a parent of a 11 year old girl premier soccer player in the Pacific Northwest. Its hard to tell the difference in intensity sometimes. But we are playing for mortgages so I guess that is how it is supposed to be.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:45:36 +0000

I loved when my girls played t-ball and then softball. They haven’t stuck with it unfortunately, but one of my favorite out of the many mommy-jobs through the years has been “dug-out mom”.

You sound like a wonderful coach!

By: Kent F

Kent F — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:20:36 +0000

No baseball experience for me – but I have heard the horror stories. The absolute saddest statistic of youth baseball is the number of “Tommy John” reconstructive surgeries teen-age boys are having these days due to pea-brained coaches/dads teaching their 11 year old how to throw curveballs and such. The latest rule-of-thumb: nothing but straight fastballs until the kid starts shaving.

Our oldest played one year of softball – very exciting with 5 Megans on one team.

By: Steve Sr.

Steve Sr. — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:57:54 +0000

This year is the 20th anniversary of a great baseball (love story) movie, Bull Durham, starring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, et al.

A week from Friday, I leave for Boston to join Steve Jr. and Chrissy for a Red Sox/Brewers match-up. Nothing like watching live MLB with your son and favorite daughter-in-law.

By: Bob Estes

Bob Estes — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:13:05 +0000

I enjoyed your post, as I am not coaching this year after nine years of doing either baseball or softball. I recently posted something on my blog (onscreen-scientist.com/?p=18) about how I first got drawn into coaching: “Looking Back At a Rocky Little League Start.” I found coaching to be very rewarding despite some problems with parents and other coaches who thought we were in the major leagues, or at least the College World Series. The parents on my team were usually not a problem, though, so I think the coach sets the tone.