The sky threatened, but the rain held off until later, so we were able to get the first practice for my daughter's t-ball team in last night. We met the kids for the first time and I was reminded of how cute and unpredictable 6 year old kids can be. My co-coach and I lined the kids up and gave them a chance to field some grounders, then we let them bat. Then I explained my philosophy of coaching to the parents, which consists of the following:
We're here to have fun. If your kid is not having fun, that's a problem.
We will teach them the basics.
We will not waste your time with numerous practices.
If you want to help your kids get better, play catch with them.
We will have fun.
To illustrate the point, I wore my beloved Looney Tunes baseball cap to practice. A coach with Bugs Bunny on his baseball cap can't possibly act like Vince Lombardi. I remain amazed at how competitive some of the other coaches I've encountered are. There is no need to fill a kid's life with pressure.
As for the team, we have some surprisingly good kids on the team. One child is about four inches taller than the rest and can already hit a ball out of the infield. He's got star written all over him. Funny thing is, he'll probably be the most difficult player to coach, because he's so good he wants to do everything and he just about trampled some of the other kids trying to make a play. If we can teach him to play a position and stick to what he does, this kid has a chance to be a special ballplayer. It will be fun to watch these kids play. Our first game is at 6:15 next Monday, at Pike Lake School Field #2. See for yourself, and watch for the coach with the Bugs Bunny hat.
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