Little League.

So this year Chris played little league again, and had a less than stellar season. He did well, but I was fairly disappointed. Not in the kids, but the coaching.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not one of 'those' parents. I understand fully that the coach is a volunteer position, and I really have no right to complain if I'm not willing to put forth the time and effort to coach myself. And, I just don't have the time. Practices happen at times that I just can't be there for. And I wind up missing 2-3 games a season due to work and the giant body of water that exists between work and home. So I'm not complaining. Well, maybe a tad. A smidgen. A scotch.

I'm pretty disappointed. Not because the team hasn't won a game. Not at all in fact, I could really care less about the outcome of an individual game. I'm more concerned with the fact that over the course of the year, I haven't seen the kids get better. In fact, they have developed some bad habits, and those bad habits aren't being corrected.

I do not like to coach from the stands. I'm really the quietest guy in on the bench for the most part. I do the customary cheers and encouragements, but I don't like to correct kids, and I hate parents who do. This year, I had to break that rule a few times.

A pet peeve of mine is watching a kid go to the plate and have their bat on their shoulder. I've seen it time and time again this season...and it isn't being corrected. Kids aren't taking practice swings. The kid playing catcher for most of the season closes his eyes on almost every pitch (and surprise surprise, the ball gets by him a lot..) The kids on the bench are not encouraging their teammates like they should be...they aren't really involved in the game. Occasionally I hear them in the dugout arguing over whose fault the last mistake was. The coach of the team at least twice a game doesn't know how many outs there are. I don't think he is very involved in the game either, which I'm sure is why the kids aren't involved in the game.

The second baseman plays out of position, and has the entire season...he is almost playing in front of the center fielder. The first baseman is over so far that he might as well be playing second base sometimes. When Chris played first base, for two games he was in the wrong spot, and was doing the wrong thing on every single pitch. After every pitch, before the ball was hit, he would put his head down and run to first base (not watching the ball at all). I waited two games for the coach to correct it, before I finally had enough and snuck over to the first base line and started coaching Chris from the other side of the fence. I hated myself for doing it too, but now Chris doesn't do it anymore. I'm happier now.

Shana thinks the Coach just wants the kids to like him, so he isn't overly critical. I understand the approach. (Time to do the inevitable WoW reference...standby...). When I first started raid leading, I was not critical of people at all. If I saw someone make a mistake, I just hoped that person saw the mistake as well, and I hoped he didn't do it again. It sometimes worked, and it sometimes didn't. I didn't want to be disliked, or lose somebody off the team, so I let it go.

Lately I don't do that as much. I play now on a progression team. In short, a progression team is one that wants to get better, everytime we go out. Kind of like a sports team in that way. If somebody makes a mistake, I have to point it out. Not to tear them down...not at all. I want them to be better. I want them avoid making that same mistake again.

In many ways, the same can be applied to little league. Obviously you can't mention it in EXACTLY the same fashion as I mention it to ADULTS... you do have to handle it gently and in an encouraging fashion, but in the end you have to show them that they are making a mistake, and show them how to do correct that mistake. Find the flaws, and show them how to eliminate that flaw and get better. That, to me, is the very definition of coaching.

Anyway, I'm just kind of disappointed. I'm not mad, angry, bitter, or resentful. I know the coach tried hard. He didn't have a lot of help with assistant coaches and the parental involvement with the team was very spotty at best. My wife did the scorekeeper spot, and as far as I know, she was the only mom who participated in the team at all. Not even a team mom to help organize things.

So it is definitely not his fault completely. Though I do have to say I'm going to work on... "creatively avoiding" Chris going to his team next year. Nothing personal, heh.