Here's a THX to all the youth coaches on the board

[galaga]

Here's a big "way to go" to all the Moms and Dads and Brothers and Sisters who are coaching and managing youth sports. Just remember, your reward is that you get to spend time with young people that are playing the game, make sure you get to know them and enjoy them.

I'm curious how many of you are doing that, and if you had any good stories to relate. That's how I got back into smoking cigars, because in our LL, we had to do all the field work ourselves, and although it's against LL policy for there to be smoking at the fields, we would always smoke while doing maintanace there, since the kids weren't around. Nothing like mowing the grass at a major league sized field while in the sunshine and enjoying a good cigar.

One of the things I learned by coaching Little League and girls ASA softball, was that "the apple don't fall very far from the tree". That fact presented itself time and time again from T-ball all the way to Junior's. While I'm not coaching this year yet, I might do a Senior team in May, it presented itself again this morning.

"The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree", is a shorthand phrase; to anticipate and accept that kids and parents are going to act in ways that you might not understand but is logical if looked at from a certain perspective. Most likely, the kid and the parent are going to think and act alike. Kind of like "never attribute to malice what can be ascribed to stupidity", except when you are coaching and representing the league, you kinda haveta think it under your thoughts and just smile and think of some nice way to tell the parent or the kid your point of view. And when you can find their angle to look at it, it really isn't so stupid at all. There really was logic behind it.

So anyway, besides trying to give a big "pat on the back" and a "way to go" to all the coaches and managers out there, WTF am I trying to say here. My daughter "bless her little heart" is going to take the SAT's soon and when she signed up she had to put down the schools to send the results. Well we went out to breakfast today and got to talking about her choices again and she said she had to send the results to four schools. I knew that she has been thinking about three shcools for a while now, SDSU, UCSD, and FSU, so I asked her where was the fourth school she would have results sent, UCLA, UCSB? You know what the little wise *ss said, "bless her little heart"? I'm sending results to University of Florida, "we could have fun watching football games together then". WTF over.... "the apple don't fall very far from the tree", now does it?

[AAlmeter]

Coach high school lacrosse during the summer, off and on when I have time. Cigar smoking is encouraged there....Head coach does, AD does, and the Asst AD does.

[floydp]

I had my last coaching stint last year, T-ball. I've coached little league and girls ASA,younger girls and 13 to 15 when my daughter played. I decided to just be a grand dad and puff on a stogie and watch. I'll miss the kids but not the parents(not all, a select few were terrible).

[zemekone]

I train speed, agility, and strength high school football and wrestlers in the summer... Does that count for anything?

[radar]

Currently coaching Tee Ball and umpiring Little League.

[RPB67]

Coaching Pop Warner Football. Team made playoffs last season. I hope we have as good a season this year.

[galaga]

Originally Posted by floydp

I had my last coaching stint last year, T-ball. I've coached little league and girls ASA,younger girls and 13 to 15 when my daughter played. I decided to just be a grand dad and puff on a stogie and watch. I'll miss the kids but not the parents(not all, a select few were terrible).

Coached ASA 13-15 with a buddy of mine. We had wrapped up the league play and were getting ready for the play-offs so we ended the hard practices with a little joke telling session. My buddy missed the first day of this so when he returned, he had a load of (bad) jokes for the "girls". After some of the semi-risque jokes from the young ladies he goes "wanna hear a dirty joke? The white horse fell in the mud, to which he was soundly booed out of the circle and walked away in mock shame. He turned around after about 20 feet and started back into the pitchers circle only to hear the following from his own daughter. What did the one candle say to the other candle? How about a blow job!. The look on his face was priceless!

[galaga]

Originally Posted by radar

Currently coaching Tee Ball and umpiring Little League.

You ump! Now there's a thankless job.
I'm umping a T-ball game, mostly to get the coaches and parents off on the right foot and to find out if there are going to be any uber competative grown-ups that year. The best coaches make sure that eveybody gets a chance to play every position, and this coach had just put in a new catcher, a litttle guy. So I'm standing at the plate next to the tee waiting for the ball to come in. It gets thrown in and the catcher misses it and it rolls back to the backstop. Well this little guy is in full catchers gear that is about two sizes too big for him and he waddles back to the backstop to get the ball that is right up against the backstop. The shin guards are too big so he can't bend his knees so he decides to lean forward and use the backstop to brace his head and reach down and pick up the ball. Wouldn't you know it, he gets stuck with his hand about 4 inches above the ball and noway to get out of his awkward position. I had to tug on the back of his chest protecter to pull him back up. Those little guys can be a riot!

[radar]

I started with Tee Ball last season, and was recruited this year. The head ump had a boy on my sons team and liked that I studied the rule book. I had one parent last year (a first base coach actually) bow up on me because I called Coaches Interference and gave him a warning for repeatedly holding his runners on the bag. Another team sent about six coaches onto the field when they were playing defense and I sent four back to the dug out and stands, you could barely see the fielders. Their main defense was always "it's just Tee Ball", so I would go into an explaination (lecture) about letting the kids learn the game.
We had one little guy who tapped the ball and ran out to get it and very politely handed it to the kid playing the mound position. Who then tagged him out. They're a riot. There was a little girl on my sons team last year who would stop while running the bases if she had a blade of grass get on her cleats so she could pick the offensive thing off her shoe. (Fortunately, she took up dance this year). He has all boys on this years team, and so far they're kicking butt. Six of the players are returns from last year, and the coach is great. They're playing damned good ball for 4,5, & 6 year olds.

[floydp]

Rick and Gary those are great stories, I got stuck umpiring the bases of one of the younger girls games. I was out there minding my own business and all of a sudden one of the coaches from the kids in the field started yelling timeout timeout. So I call timeout and this little girl was running off the field crying. I was wondering what the devil was going on. She did #2 in her pants and the poor thing had it all over herself. You never know what your gonna see in these games.

[radar]

Here's a great web site for umps and coaches......

http://www.infosports.com/

[radar]

Just got back from a celebratory bar-b-que at my brothers place. We were celebrating Teddys' (my 5 yearold) game tonight. They play three innings and in the second inning he was playing catcher and stopped two runs at the plate (fielding is the toughest part of tee ball) and then in the third inning hit his first grand slam. And I'm not talking about one of those homers on errors and missed catches, the ball touched the ground about 15 yards past second base. I didn't have to ump tonight so I was in the stands and screaming. It was great, the best game they've had yet and my sons best game so far too. I'm still wired!

[radar]

PS smoked a Boli Corona on the brothers deck. A fine evening!

[galaga]

Originally Posted by radar

Just got back from a celebratory bar-b-que at my brothers place. We were celebrating Teddys' (my 5 yearold) game tonight. They play three innings and in the second inning he was playing catcher and stopped two runs at the plate (fielding is the toughest part of tee ball) and then in the third inning hit his first grand slam. And I'm not talking about one of those homers on errors and missed catches, the ball touched the ground about 15 yards past second base. I didn't have to ump tonight so I was in the stands and screaming. It was great, the best game they've had yet and my sons best game so far too. I'm still wired!

You've got a five year old! You're already out there umping in tri-focals! What are you going to do in another 10 years?
Sounds like he's a natural, and that he loves the game. I love to see the excitement of the kids (at that level especially) when they have a good game. Conrgrats Pop, sounds like you're staying young at heart!

[SDmate]

I'm not trying to give Rick a bigger head than he already has, but I must say this. Rick was one of the best manager ,coach,ump, field guy, plumber ,you
name it he did it for our local LL.I only got to coach with him 1 winterball season a couple years ago,I did coach against him during reg season 3or 4 year & thats how we met.He always had all the kids playing there 'A' game ,
no matter what skill level the player was,come to think of it his 789 hitters always kicked our butts.
Anyway enough of this He's also an all around great bloke & me best mate CHEERS Rick