LOVED today's post!!!!! Absolutely LOVE your coaching style! And the questions you came up w/!!!! MARVELOUS!!!!
One yr, when 2 of my sons were on the same baseball team & it was the 'luck of the draw' type thing, & it looked like a losing yr, I could not believe some of the comments coming out of the other parents' mouths!!! They weren't being quiet, either - shouting at the coach, the players, etc. And this was a young team. I did my best to balance things out.
Yrs later my boys got into Ultimate Frisbee (not the golf frisbee). They loved it, because no coaches. They said it's the only sport where you might hear the argument "I was too off-sides", "You were not off-sides". One son, after college graduation was on the team that won US nationals so went to represent the US in Japan. I tagged along. It was marvelous!! They had a co-ed team & it's when I first met my future daughter-in-law.
I was a decent baseball player in high school and DIII college but made extra money umpiring Little League games on Saturdays all day and Sunday afternoons, so I had a fair amount of lets call them overly exuberant parents/ coaches screaming all kids and mostly at me for the 5% of calls I might have missed.
I would call the coaches over and point to a sign on the field that said “Be respectful and have fun…. No one is signing a major league contract on this field today”
At the end of the game all the 12 year old and under kids wanted was an Italian ice and to smile with their friends!
I did the same as you when our kids were little, never played but nobody else would coach. One referee management trick I learned from another coach, who also the PE teacher for most of the teenage refs, was to make 2 simple requests at the start of each game with the other coach. First, blow your whistle loudly. Second was to yell to us coaches what the call was, so we knew what to do. I didnt worry about bad calls, they happen. But making sure the Ref knew that they were in charge always made a difference.
You are a great dad and those strategies apply in business right now! When I worked at the manufacturer of the iPhone in the 1980s, we in sales would joke “what is the difference between cub scouts and software developers?”
The answer is “adult supervision” if only we had read your column then!
:-) I was a cub scout leader for many years. It was really difficult to recruit help. I would get others to come in "part-time". What really ticked me off was when the kids were supposed to do a project but it was obvious the parent did it. One yr for the derby car race, the dad protectively carried the car in a cloth wrapped box into the mtg, wouldn't allow the son to touch it, until it was required for him to put it on the track. Oh, yes, it was a gorgeous piece of workmanship. Dad was soooooooooo proud.
When I took my daughter to college the dean of students warned about helecopter-itis. One mom called the registrar to rearrange her classes to which the registrar said, “that’s your daughter’s job” and another mom slept on her daughter’s dorm room floor the first week to make sure she adjusted! Someone definitely needed adjusting!
Great story! Good for you coaching kids. They will remember it fondly, win or loose. I played soccer as a 6th grader. I am a 67 year old woman and I still remember good feelings and fun we had today. My best friend’s Dad created the team ALONE. No organized support although he must have had connections to the Recreation dept as we played and had some balls and nets! There was only 1 other female team he could get to play with us so our season was VERY limited. They were much much older and generally crushed us. He taught the “first rule of soccer, when in doubt, kick out!” In truth it was the only rule he taught. I was a Full back and there was some sort of a penalty. I recall yelling “ what is this basketball? There are no fouls in Soccer!”
This was a great read, Bill. As the parent of a student athlete who played Field Hockey from the age of 9 1/2, I can tell you with certainty that the parents of those kids will never forget you or the way you coached them.
Great job! At that age, kids should have fun and develop their skills. No one is going to remember the score of a game, but kids can take what they learned into their future, both on and off the field.
What a great and hopefully memorable experience for your team Bill. Small lessons learned, if not immediately, then perhaps later when it will matter more. You’re a good guy; but I figured that long ago.
LOVED today's post!!!!! Absolutely LOVE your coaching style! And the questions you came up w/!!!! MARVELOUS!!!!
One yr, when 2 of my sons were on the same baseball team & it was the 'luck of the draw' type thing, & it looked like a losing yr, I could not believe some of the comments coming out of the other parents' mouths!!! They weren't being quiet, either - shouting at the coach, the players, etc. And this was a young team. I did my best to balance things out.
Yrs later my boys got into Ultimate Frisbee (not the golf frisbee). They loved it, because no coaches. They said it's the only sport where you might hear the argument "I was too off-sides", "You were not off-sides". One son, after college graduation was on the team that won US nationals so went to represent the US in Japan. I tagged along. It was marvelous!! They had a co-ed team & it's when I first met my future daughter-in-law.
I was a decent baseball player in high school and DIII college but made extra money umpiring Little League games on Saturdays all day and Sunday afternoons, so I had a fair amount of lets call them overly exuberant parents/ coaches screaming all kids and mostly at me for the 5% of calls I might have missed.
I would call the coaches over and point to a sign on the field that said “Be respectful and have fun…. No one is signing a major league contract on this field today”
At the end of the game all the 12 year old and under kids wanted was an Italian ice and to smile with their friends!
Great job coaching. Very thoughtful approach and always keeping your teams ultimate best interests in mind, even if they didn't realize it.
I did the same as you when our kids were little, never played but nobody else would coach. One referee management trick I learned from another coach, who also the PE teacher for most of the teenage refs, was to make 2 simple requests at the start of each game with the other coach. First, blow your whistle loudly. Second was to yell to us coaches what the call was, so we knew what to do. I didnt worry about bad calls, they happen. But making sure the Ref knew that they were in charge always made a difference.
You are a great dad and those strategies apply in business right now! When I worked at the manufacturer of the iPhone in the 1980s, we in sales would joke “what is the difference between cub scouts and software developers?”
The answer is “adult supervision” if only we had read your column then!
:-) I was a cub scout leader for many years. It was really difficult to recruit help. I would get others to come in "part-time". What really ticked me off was when the kids were supposed to do a project but it was obvious the parent did it. One yr for the derby car race, the dad protectively carried the car in a cloth wrapped box into the mtg, wouldn't allow the son to touch it, until it was required for him to put it on the track. Oh, yes, it was a gorgeous piece of workmanship. Dad was soooooooooo proud.
When I took my daughter to college the dean of students warned about helecopter-itis. One mom called the registrar to rearrange her classes to which the registrar said, “that’s your daughter’s job” and another mom slept on her daughter’s dorm room floor the first week to make sure she adjusted! Someone definitely needed adjusting!
Great story! Good for you coaching kids. They will remember it fondly, win or loose. I played soccer as a 6th grader. I am a 67 year old woman and I still remember good feelings and fun we had today. My best friend’s Dad created the team ALONE. No organized support although he must have had connections to the Recreation dept as we played and had some balls and nets! There was only 1 other female team he could get to play with us so our season was VERY limited. They were much much older and generally crushed us. He taught the “first rule of soccer, when in doubt, kick out!” In truth it was the only rule he taught. I was a Full back and there was some sort of a penalty. I recall yelling “ what is this basketball? There are no fouls in Soccer!”
This was a great read, Bill. As the parent of a student athlete who played Field Hockey from the age of 9 1/2, I can tell you with certainty that the parents of those kids will never forget you or the way you coached them.
Great job! At that age, kids should have fun and develop their skills. No one is going to remember the score of a game, but kids can take what they learned into their future, both on and off the field.
After seeing your pic,
think you are my doppelganger.
Great Coaching!!!! Loved it. ***** 5 Stars
What a great and hopefully memorable experience for your team Bill. Small lessons learned, if not immediately, then perhaps later when it will matter more. You’re a good guy; but I figured that long ago.
great story and life lessons, thanks.
Fascinating read! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com