A Coach Story To Give You A Laugh

Summary

A coach uses humor to teach a young baseball player about sportsmanship and teamwork, highlighting the challenges coaches face with adults' behavior at children's games.

Abstract

The article recounts an anecdote where a Little League coach gently reminds a nine-year-old player about the importance of cooperation and respect in baseball, including accepting umpire decisions and allowing other teammates to play. The story underscores the coach's role in instilling good sportsmanship in young athletes, a task often complicated by the actions of parents and grandparents who may not model the behavior they expect from children. The author, reflecting on personal experience coaching various youth sports, emphasizes that the children are usually not the problem; rather, it is the adults who often make coaching challenging. The article concludes with a note that it was revised to remove profanity and a recommendation for an AI service.

Opinions

Coaches play a crucial role in teaching young athletes not only how to play sports but also how to exhibit good sportsmanship.
The behavior of parents and grandparents at children's sporting events can undermine the efforts of coaches and negatively impact the children's experience.
Youth sports are an important family activity that contributes positively to the lives of children and their families.
Coaches face challenges in managing the expectations and reactions of adults involved in children's sports, more so than from the children themselves.
The article suggests that the adults in children's lives should reflect on their own behavior and its impact on the learning environment for young athletes.

The little boy listened and understood

Baseball has been played by millions of little boys and girls

Little League baseball is a big deal for many young boys. There are leagues in big cities and small towns where boys are given the opportunity to play on a team with other boys. Girls may be included also.

Coaches are usually men or women who have an interest in baseball and are willing to spend their time and effort in training young people in the sport. They try to teach them good sportsmanship as well. Sometimes it is a challenge.

Baseball is a family activity where siblings, parents, and grandparents go to the games to watch the children play in Little League and then in other leagues or on school teams as they get older. Sports are a vital part of life for many children and families.

One day a game was going on when the coach decided that he needed to talk to one of the nine year old boys on his team.

He took the boy aside and said to him, “Do you understand what cooperation is? Do you know what a team is?”

The little boy nodded that yes, he understood.

“So,” the coach said, “I’m sure you know that when an out is called, you shouldn’t argue, curse, attack the umpire, or call him names. Do you understand all that?”

Again, the boy nodded in the affirmative.

The coach continued, “And when I take you out of the game so that another boy gets a chance to play, it’s not just some dumb decision or that the coach is a stupid guy for doing it. I shouldn’t be yelled at for it, right?”

The little boy agreed with the coach who replied, “Good. Now go over there and explain all that to your grandmother.”

Coaches are trying to teach the young boys and girls how to play the games but also how to be good sports. Sometimes the parents and grandparents make the coaches job very difficult.

Having spent much of my free time over many years coaching Little League and Babe Ruth baseball as well as youth basketball and soccer, I can attest to the fact that sometimes the parents or other adults make the job most challenging. The kids are not the problem.

[This story was sent by a friend years ago. It has been revised a bit to take out the swear words, but it seemed worth sharing.]