I started umpiring baseball when I was 15 and over the years what I've found at the youth level is that coaches fall in to 1 of 3 categories.
The most common category -
The Absolute Clueless.
The coach might have a good demeanor or put the ouch in douchebag, but what he tries to hide is the fact that he knows absolutely nothing about the game or how to instruct it to his youthful players. These coaches volunteer their time so they get a pass when we see them at the sports bar drinking a fuzzy navel trying to learn the game.
The next category - The
win at all cost Coach.
This coach teaches his kids how to win at the current level they are playing. This will be the Greatest T-ball Team of All Time.
This coach teaches kids to:
- Roll the ball to the next player when the kid you are throwing to can't catch.
- To not swing the bat because the player has a better chance of walking then actually hitting the ball.
- Run on strike 3 every time because the odds are the catcher will drop the ball.
- Will draw a line in the dirt, telling kids how far to go down 3rd base. They didn't learn that from Tommy Lasorda.
And many more Douchey tactics. Quick pitching, constant stealing, Don't swing so time will run out. 9 out of 10 of his kids will fail at the next level.
The last coach and they are rare is -
The Fundamentalist. They teach kids the fundamentals of the game.
- Bunting
- Bunt Coverage
- How to field a ground ball
- Opposite field batting
- Secondary Leads
- The basics of fielding, throwing and batting.
Those things that take practice to learn but are not always advantageous in a youth game.
Who won the league championship last year? 2 years ago? 20 years ago? Eventually everyone will forget.
If these kids go on to play high school ball, college ball or pro ball that is just a perk. Learning the game and how to play it is the main objective along with how to compete. The truth is those kids that you teach, will one day grow up, have a family and coach your grand kids. That's the true circle of sports life. Only you can prevent the next generation of Douchebags.
opcorn2
