365 Days to Better Baseball - Key to Coaching Sport

Saturday Secrets to Great Baseball Coaching - Bottle Your Coaching Frustrations Up

Leave Your EGO at Home when Coaching Sport

Important message to coaches and parents because coaching sport the right way can make all the difference - just because something was easy for you, or it appears easy on TV, does not mean it is easy for young ball players. There is a reason many say that hitting a baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in sport. In addition, one could make a case that pitching and fielding a baseball is a close second in difficulty, to hitting.

When I see parents or coaches get upset with kids, because the young players cannot perform baseball skills the way their parent thinks they should be able to, I often feel like going up to them and asking how many years they spent in the major leagues.

Coaching Sport - Image via Wikipedia

Patience is the number one key to coaching sport, especially with the most difficult game of all, baseball. The key to patience is remembering that they were not as good as they think they were and it is not easy, or else everyone would have played in the major leagues.

With that in mind, coaches and parents should remember that overtly showing frustration in front of kids is counterproductive; youth want to do well, and often as much for their parents and coaches as for themselves. Of course, even the best of coaches and parents slip up and show frustration occasionally, but the best of them apologize to their kids and move on.

I believe I have perspective and patience when it comes to coaching sport, but I have slipped up many times with showing frustration. It is not that one falls that counts, but that one picks themself up and moves on, trying to be better the next time. Hey, isn't that the ultimate message of sport anyway and one that we want to pass on to our youth.