Just Makes it All Worth it!
This post sponsored through the pepperjamNETWORK by:
Allow you and your baby to get a good night sleep with the Baby Sleeps Safe – Order Now!
I know I have written posts like this before, but every now and then we all need a little reminding why we put in these long hours and endure the abuse that becomes a Little League coach. The other day I had a lesson w/ a young girl. She was filling in for her cousin who had taken ill.I really didn’t think much of it.
She is a great student. She pays attention, does what you tell her, but really doesn’t show much emotion either way. At times I feel as though she is bored and unattentive, but then she repeats back to me what I told her 15 minutes prior. So I know she is listening.
Anyway, so I get this email from her mom the other day. Here’s how it went:
“So I promised my daughter I would send you an email. And knowing her, she will ask you the next time she sees you, so I have to live up to my word.
She had her first game after your one on one with her. She followed every step you taught her. I could see her doing the steps in her head.
She hit off the machine, of course straight between 1st and 2nd and got out at first, but it was a great hit. That is a huge improvement from the first couple of games.
She wanted to call you last night, but I said no.”
So this girl grounded out and was so excited she wanted to call me! This is the girl I thought wasn’t even paying attention!
I have since had another lesson w/ her and she definitely remembers every word I said in the prior lesson. Again, we need to remember that these kids hang on our every word and it is important to chose them wisely. Lord knows I have been on the wrong end of that equation more times than I would like to admit. At least this time, I had a positive and lasting effect on a young girls career.
What is the most positive thing you have taken away from an encounter with a youngster? We would love to hear.
A Day in the Life
7:45 Alarm went off, beat it into submission, it gave in (or so I thought)
8:00 Realized alarm was very sturdy as snooze went off
8:00-8:30 Fought a losing battle w/ snooze button
8:45 Finally gave up and got up and showered
9:15 Began Real Estate Work
2:30 First Hitting Lesson w/ girl who just came from the dentist. Was pretty entertaining watching her try not to drool when she swung
3:30 Next lesson w/ girl who was allowed to leave school to attend lesson! Now I feel important!
4:30 Rewarding lesson w/ boy I have worked w/ now for a year and he is one hopping the ball off the 300’ fence when before he couldn’t hit it out of the infield. His mother told me “you are worth much more than this” when she paid me, I replied, “I am happy to take more!”….lol
5:30 Joined my son’s minor baseball practice already in progress. I think the manager was mad at me for missing the first 1/2 hour for a lesson.
6:30 Thought I was done, thought wrong! Got a call from the Umpire in Chief telling me his umpire for the Junior Baseball game did not show. Aaaarggghhh…3 hours more on the field!
7:00 I arrive at the Juniors game in the middle of the first inning dead tired. I realize I didn’t eat today! Oh well, at least I am losing weight and getting exercise right? I will look good when I need to look for a new wife because mine just left and I didn’t even realize until 2 weeks later…..(a joke people, calm the gossip train)
7:30 Thinking this game is going fast, hope I get out of here early.
8:30 Realize we are already in the 5th inning! Woohoo!
9:30 Wondering if this game is ever going to end! I am really tired and it’s starting to show I think.
10:00 Finally the game is over!
10:30 I get to eat!!!!!
11:00 Check emails
11:30 Write blog post
That’s the typical day in the life of the coach! What’s your typical day like?
This post sponsored through the pepperjamNETWORK by: Save $15 off any $150 purchase at Dartboards.com with code KC-6983
Keith Hernandez, Pure Baseball
Let me start by saying, this is the best baseball book ever written, period. I have two important reads every year. First, I read the new rulebooks, then I read this book, every year. Why? Because it is simply the best resource I have ever seen to keep you fresh and remind you of all the little idiosyncrasies of the game.
Basically, Hernandez takes two baseball games, one American League, and one National League, and breaks them down pitch by pitch. Yes, just about every pitch of each game is analyzed with tangents about what could, would, and should have happened in any given situation, on any pitch.
I am actually working on a similar project myself for Little League, but I will have to pay many respects and dues to this great effort. Hernandez tells about his father giving he and his brother written tests about the game. If you thought you knew baseball, you don’t know a thing, if you are a casual observer of the game, reading this book will let you know how much of it you are really missing!
Make sure you order Pure Baseball
What our Readers are Saying