Can You Please Just Coach Your Team?

Well over the past few weeks many things have really irked me in the game of baseball. Of course the Royals are at the top of the list but they are an easy target. Most of my frustrations come with the game at the lowest levels.

For those of you who do not know I am an umpire for high school aged baseball, every now and then I make a mistake and decide to do some games for youth baseball. A week ago I was in Council Grove, KS for a tournament it was hot and the parents and coaches were just as hot. Between whining and complaining there are lots of issues with youth sports in America, but the worst is when 11 year old kids are playing a game and just seemed like it was torture. Parents/coaches yelling at 11 year olds expecting them to be professionals. As a coach I find it embarrassing. I was a head coach for 4 years at the high school level in different sports I found out real quick that yelling, screaming, and degrading players does not work. NO coach, not Bobby Knight or anyone who yells all the time can get their point across. The message is lost very quickly on the players at all levels especially the youth level.

Adults who were not successful when they were younger are now throwing a fit because an 11 year old swings and misses at a high pitch. Or throwing a fit because a runner sent home when they shouldn't have been he gets thrown out by two steps and he is called out. The coach must have the best view to see that there was a missed tag right...well that is what he though so the 35 year old runs his fat rear down to home plate (while the play is still going on) bumps me and starts screaming. If you know baseball you know what happens next, coach tossed within seconds, he screams profanities, wont leave makes a scene. By the way while this is happening one of his players take an extra base, a great baseball play. Why would he want to cheer on a good play when he can argue with an umpire and get everyone fired up about a call that wasn't close.

What I have found is that the older the level of sport the more behaved the coaches are. While umpiring the KSU clinic where there was a very high level of baseball there was one coach who questioned a call. ONE...did he come out screaming and yelling...no very calmly he went to talk to his pitcher waited for me to break up the conference and asked me why I was not calling an inside strike. I told him that the catcher was blocking a good view of the pitch...did he yell and scream? Not a chance he said thank you and shockingly "Coached" his player and guess what I was able to see the pitch better and called the strike.

So what is the moral to the story? As a coach I learned a few things:

1. NEVER yell at an official. I tried it and it always is counterproductive. Ask questions and let them know what you see in a positive way and you will get the call 90% of the time.
2. It is OK to yell at your team...just not all the time. This comes from coaching girls, you find out early that if you scream all the time they will check out but if you yell once and a while and its just a tool for you it work wonders! This does not mean that you must sit and be quiet all the time in fact just the opposite. I was/am crazy excited to be there and am always pumped for a game, usually up yelling and cheering on. I am loud but positive. Even when there is a screw up I can be positive when I am INSTRUCTING.
3. MOST IMPORTANTLY go coach the players to improve their skills not to stroke your ego. The best coaching job I ever did was a 2-22 season (or something like that) when I started 4 freshmen most games (in Volleyball where there are 6 starters) we improved each day and were a dramatically better team at the end of the year and almost knocked off the 1 seed in the Regional tourney.

Please coaches go out and have fun. Talk to your players and the officials and don't yell. This will make those 11 year olds want to play and not dread each and every game.