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The Wizards
The Wizardsof the field never cease to amaze me. The original Wizard, back flipp
The Original Wizard
ing Ozzie Smith, was amazing. Always where he was supposed to be, always finding a way to make a play, always being in the right place at the right time, earning him the moniker of “The Wizard”.
I see this every day in youth sports as well and it is something impossible to understand. Why do some kids just “get it” and react and know what they are supposed to do, while others take longer to develop the same skills? If there was a way to identify “The Wizards” in advance, it would be a great asset, but you never know, they just appear.
Some are just blessed with God given instincts I supposed, while others must work and work and work just to get to the same level as “The Wizards”. This is something we may never understand, but boy, how sweet is it to sit back and watch a Wizard perform?
My Best Memories of 2011
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Michael’s Home Run – The kid stands maybe 4’ on a ladder! (that’s an exaggeration but you get it) but what he lacks in stature, he makes up for with heart, hard work, and dedication. He has a near perfect swing and had a perfect hit, OVER THE FENCE home run! A memory of a lifetime.
Merry Christmas
It’s that time of year when we all gather with family and enjoy that unique bond that family provides. It is strange how it works, we don’t see each other for months, yet seem to pick right up where things left off. We have similar bonds, but nothing as strong as family. Teams bond, when we see our teammates years later there is definitely a special something that exists between teammates, coaches, and manager. Best friends bond as well, some for life, but blood is forever.
We drive hours to be with family. Fly across the country to get together for just a few days and create rituals repeated year after year. It’s funny how they change though. Little by little every year the rituals evolve, people move, superfluous stuff gets in the way, and stubbornness permeates our ego.
Family bonds are forever, so make sure to tell EVERYONE in your family, Merry Christmas.
MERRY CHRISTMAS MCBRIDE CLAN!
Five Things That Annoyed Me This Year
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Image by nathalie booth via Flickr
Quitters – If you commit to a team, you are there until the duration of your commitment is over. There are NO exceptions to this rule. Anything less is unacceptable because if you quit once, you are a quitter for life.
- People who don’t know the rules but act like they do – Why do people who have never opened a rulebook in their entire life feel the need to embarrass themselves publically by getting rules wrong? Even worse, they get mad when the umpire rules against them and accuse those of us who have taken the time to learn the rules of being cheaters! Nuff said.
- Guest Players – I could write a whole article on this one, but the bottom line is, be part of a team or go play an individual sport like golf. If you are in it for yourself, eventually, you will find yourself all alone. If you are committed to a team, then the team will be committed to you. Of course, a manager who brings a “guest player” on simply to win and sits one of their own players who has been committed to the team the whole time is even worse. Manager’s check your ego’s at the door.
- Gossip – A + B = D???? Yeah, in the world of gossip that’s how it works. The great part of this game is the slow pace at which it moves, that also lends itself to lots and lots of conversations. Of course, nobody really knows anything, but everyone thinks they know everything! This is where my favorite line is “keep your blinders on and stay focused on the objective at hand”. This usually leaves those running their traps in the dust!
- People who don’t step up – It is amazing how many complain yet don’t step up. In the words of the late great John Lennon, “there are no problems, only solutions”. You are part of one, you get to pick which.
Five Things That Delighted Me This Year
- Heartfelt Thank Yous – Let’s face it, humble heartfelt gratitude is what makes doing this so great!
- Being surrounded by great people – One of the great things about life is our inability to be successful without being in the company of amazing people. I am blessed in every aspect of my life to be surrounded by remarkable human beings. To them I give a heartfelt THANK YOU!
- Smiling Faces – If I said it once, I said it 100 times. Nothing tops the smile on a kid’s face when they have accomplished something they worked so hard to achieve! Nothing!
- Loyal and Courageous kids who kicked adversity’s butt! – You have two choices when things get tough, cut and run, or pull up your bootstraps and start swingin’! When a kid chooses hard work and dedication over giving up, they become our role models.
- Positive Role Model Parents – You know, it’s always the ones that you on the surface appear rough, that turn out to be the best!
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The Littleleaguecoach.com’s Person of the Year is YOU
Ok, so maybe I’m getting old, but the Time Person of the Year
Image via Wikipedia
is “The Protester”? I get it and all, the protester has overturned many Governments this year and we are fast on our way to world freedom and open market exchange, blah, blah, blah, blah, but that’s BORING! Sooooooo, I decided to create my own LittleLeagueCoach.com person of the year award!
THE LITTLE LEAGUE COACH’S PERSON OF THE YEAR IS…………………………………………..YOU!!!!
Yeah, that’s right, you! You reading this right now. You the parent who rushes around after school, zips through McDonalds and picks up a happy mean, flies to the park to make it just in time for practice. You, who sits there hour upon hour at practice as your child refines their skills and learns the value of hard work and dedication knowing that when you get home an hour of homework looks you in the face. You, who is there to provide a high-five after a great victory and a hug after a tough defeat. You, who keeps everything in perspective and knows that in the end, none of this really matters in the big scheme of things even though it feels like it is the most important thing on the planet at the time. You, who year after year after year, never complains, never moans, never whines about the little things, but keeps your child focused on the overall objective, loyalty, character, and courage. You, who remains positive in the face of adversity and finds solace in the little things that are the reasons everyone is here. You, who makes sure your child knows the manager is an authority figure and is to always command respect, even when you don’t agree with him. You, the parent, who is always there for the ones that matter the most.
Is this you?
If so, then, THANK YOU for being every Little League Coach’s Person of the Year!
His Shot at Glory
Image via Wikipedia
My article about intentional walks has received quite a few comments, mostly complaints. However, I defend my position to this day, and the story I am about to tell about my player’s day of glory would never have happened had his brother not received an intentional walk.
First, let me set the scenario. The player in question was not entirely happy with me last year. Yeah, I know that’s hard to believe, but it happens occasionally 
. However, this year, his brother joined our team. His brother is a seasoned veteran, our clean up hitter, multiple home run hitter, and always in the spotlight. His brother, along w/ my own son, lead the team in strike outs last year.
Nevertheless, neither my son, nor this player, let that dissuade them. They both worked hard to make themselves better. In fact, in the game prior, my son was on 3rd, this player was on 2nd, and they had both just brought in the go ahead and inevitable winning runs. I told them straight up, “how cool is this, you have both gone from leading the team in strike outs to driving in the go ahead runs”. Those who know or play for me know you are always going to get the hard truth out of my mouth, how you deal with it is up to you.
Now for the moment of glory. This is long, but it is well worth the read. Our team was more or less and expansion team last year. We had 8 10-year olds and 4 12-year olds. We only won 3 games all season yet it was one of the most positive experiences in which I have ever been involved. The last game of our season we were scheduled to play a team who was 1 game out of first place and trying to force a play off. They still had to play the team they were trailing and needed to beat us during the week and them on Saturday. We caught them looking past our young team with only 2 victories at the time and defeated them to knock them out of the championship for good. To us, it was the world series and a perfect ending to our season.
This year, almost the same scenario unfolds. The only difference, our last game is against this same team. They must defeat us to have a chance to force a playoff game for the championship. We are better this year with a record over .500 as 11-year olds but they are all also much better as well. In fact, they had already beat us 3 times before this year. They certainly were not looking past us this time though, they respected us and knew we were capable of beating them even though overall they were the better team.
In the first inning, they jump out to a 2-0 lead on a great home run on a great pitch. One where you simply have to “tip your cap” to the hitter because he drove a great knee high pitch over the fence. Later in the game, the same batter came up with runners on second and third with two outs. We chose to pitch around him because he was pretty well protected. Once the count was 3-1, we just went ahead and walked him. He took his base without complaint, the manager and coaches of the other team understood, and the next batter came up. He ripped a 2-run single past 2nd base and scored 2 more runs. We were down 4-0 and it didn’t look good.
Somehow during the course of the game we scratched out a run, so going into the top of the 6th inning, the score was 4-1. The outlook was bleak. Our chance at a championship had ended many weeks before, so our ultimate objective was to get all of our kids as many at-bats and innings in the field as possible for the rest of the season. This meant we were batting the entire line up. Of course, we were on the 11th and 12th hitters as the baseball Gods would dictate in this situation.
We went into safety-first take a pitch mode. The first batter drew a great walk laying off some very tough pitches. The second batter, who has been struggling all year, hits into a fielders choice. Top of the order, 1 out! We got a chance! Leadoff batter walks in 4 straight pitches as you would expect from a lead-off hitter. The next batter, battles, and battles, and battles, fouling off 4 pitches before he rips one over the left fielder’s head. 4-3, tying run on 2nd, winning run up to bat. The next batter does his job with a ground out to 2nd advancing the tying run to 3rd. 2 outs, tying run on 3rd, winning run at the plate.
Who comes up? Of course, our stud clean up batter. Mr. Clutch. We got this thing right? He’s gonna jack a homer and put us up like he always does, or at least knock the runner in, he is Mr. Clutch leading our team in every offensive category there is! But no, the opposing coach calls time and walks out to talk to the pitcher. I didn’t hear this, but the batter comes over to me dejected and says “man, they are going to intentionally walk me”. Immediately, I say, “great”, much to his surprise. I go on to explain that the baseball Gods will be angry and will make them pay for this move. You NEVER put the winning run on base with an intentional walk, and this will make them pay!
They successfully walk him, he sprints past first, onto 2nd and we have 2nd and 3rd, two outs, down by 1. Now who steps into the batters box but the stud’s little brother! Yeah, the same guy who lead our team in strike outs had hit his way into the 5 spot on our team. An RBI position! It was time for his moment of glory!
First, had they not walked his brother, it is very likely he would have gotten a hit and tied the game, maybe a home run, and the family would have gone home happy celebrating his success, again, it would have been a great night. However, because they walked his older brother, his younger brother was given a shot to deliver a hit he will remember for the rest of his life. Something he will talk about forever, something that molded his very character and proved through true grit, determination, and hard work he could succeed against all odds. All because of the intentional walk! If he fails, no biggie, just another out, but what transpired was magical, to use my best friend Sarah’s terminology.
The kid steps up to bat, two outs, tying run on 3rd, go ahead run on 2nd, he looks down for his signal and I see something in his eye I have never seen from him before. Determination. There is little doubt in my mind he is about to hit the ball, it is time for his moment of glory. First pitch, a spinner in the dirt, “oh no” he swung at it! Strike one. Not a great start. He scowls and looks down again, I remind him that it’s moments like this that we play the game for, just hit the ball, but be smart, the pitcher is a little wild. The next 3 pitches, balls that he lays off of! Ones over his head that he would have swung at last year, this year he is more disciplined and lets them pass. 3-1 count, he is right where he wants to be. Foul ball, straight back, he is right on this! He has this!
He looks back at me with fury in his eyes! Slams his bat on the plate, gets right on top of the plate, refusing to strike out, just like we teach him. Just put something in play and good things happen we say a million times if not once. The pitcher winds and delivers a pitch on the outside corner, just where he is looking, he swings, contact, hard contact, a screaming ground ball by the 2nd baseman and into the gap between right field and center field. Two runs in, us in the lead and the cheers out of control! We follow that up with a couple more hits and his brother, the stud, finishes them off on the mound.
This is a moment that I will remember the rest of my life. It is a moment that his parents will cherish forever. It’s a time when he stole the spotlight from his brother who stands a foot taller and a time he will remember for the rest of his life. It was truly his, MOMENT OF GLORY! It would have been a shame for the other manager to STEAL HIS MOMENT OF GLORY by pitching to his brother instead of intentionally walking him. How can you possibly make the argument against the intentional walk? What follows brings memories that last a lifetime, without it, its just another stud with another game winning hit.
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Get off Your Butts and Help
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So our little guys had a minor machine pitch game today against a very good team. About half way through the game, I looked up and saw that the coach of the other team was operating the pitching machine, shagging the missed balls, running his batters, policing the dugout, and running the kids in the field. I asked him, “where is all your help?” figuring he was missing a few coaches. His reply, “I’m it”.
So I looked into his stands and there sat about 20 or so parents doing nothing. Could they not see he could use a hand? It was obvious to me. Maybe he is not the kind to ask for help, but if you are sitting there and a coach looks like he needs help, he does! Just ask, he or she will say, “sure, can you ……..”.
Even if you don’t know what you are doing, simply shagging the missed balls and getting them back to the machine would have been a great help to this coach, anyone could have done that. He obviously was a major benefit for their kids as they played very well. Why not repay the favor he is doing your children by giving him a hand?
By the way, at the end of the game, he packed up all his gear, cleaned up the trash after their kids, broke down the pitching machine and put it away, and carried all his gear to his car. Should we be surprised?
Off Season Little League Clinics
Off-Season clinics are a great way for your league to help hone skills. When I used to coach back in freezing cold Virginia (Yeah I know it was 27 here in FL last night, but you get it) we would have our teams together year round by renting indoor facilities. They were very often inexpensive and rather than rent the cages w/ machines we would rent a basic empty net and hold our own practices inside. As a league, you can often work deals with the indoor facility because they are happy to have so many kids in there, they will probably come back.
Fortunately, in Florida, we have warm enough weather year round to keep training. We hold a clinic once a week on Thursdays alternating hitting one week and fielding the next. Tomorrow we do hitting, last week it was fielding. This not only hones the kids skills, it keeps their interest in the game and keeps us in communication with the parents.
Remember, as with any practice or clinic, the focus must be on FUNdamentals and FUN. Otherwise, the kids won’t come back. They always remember the last thing they did, so end it with a game! We had the largest relay race in history last week w/ each team having over 20 players. Took probably 5 minutes, but you should have seen how they pulled together, cheered, and enjoyed the evening. Kids, parents, and coaches all left with smiles on our faces.
Oh, by the way, any comments on Urban Meyer’s resignation today?
Let The Games Begin!
- Image by Getty Images via @daylife
I will admit it! With my son making his first all-star team and my girls playing again on the Junior Softball All-Star team practices every night from 6PM to 10PM have completely exhausted me! I was ready for it to be over. I sat in my favorite watering hole last night and could barely hold my eyes open much less think of answers to the challenging trivia questions being posed!
Then came today. 100 degrees in the shade and I am in full umpire’s gear umping a Little League Division Softball All-Star game. The first of the international tournament that ends in late August with the crowning of the Champion of the World! You would think I was miserable wouldn’t you? Completely exhausted, nothing left, practice after grueling practice, but no! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Time to get fired up! Reinvigorated! This is what we work so hard all year for! So to every Little League team out there, GOOD LUCK! All your hard work has paid off and it is time to show your stuff! And to every Little League volunteer out there who thanklessly give of themselves so our children can enjoy this experience, THANK YOU!
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
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