Opening Day

While late getting in the game this year, I am involved in little league for the second year, now as manager of the AA Braves in East County Little League in Oakley. Last year was a learning experience in coaching young kids, keeping them interested and maintaining patience. For me, baseball seemed to come easy, one reason I decided to coach last year, knowing I had the fundamentals to teach young kids. Big Al Price got my enthusiasm pumping after attending his coaching clinic the past two years. If there is a coach I want to emulate, it’s Big Al, he has a love for developing the player and the person.

Still not a fan of watching Major League Baseball, managing little league is different, as players at this age are willing to listen and learn and make improvement. That is my hope for many I am managing this season. I see a world of talent in some of the players on my team. I am impressed with their level of skills at ages 7-9. Not sure I was as good as some of the kids when I played my first few years.

Still, I have some concerns as we look forward toward Saturday and Opening Day for the little league season. I begin to question if I and the coaching staff have done enough to prepare our players to compete, more importantly to have fun. If you can’t have fun, why play? Big Al provided the system and I feel I implemented his “teach it, try it, game it” approach rather well through a month of practice. Win or lose, I want to make this season a positive experience for all.

What really worries me are the parents. Last year we had a great group of very supportive parents lining the sidelines during practice and games to watch their son or daughter during the season. They cheered and screamed in support of their player, no better feeling of success. This year, little league becomes competitive and sometimes that can bring out the ugly side, not only of coaches and players, but parents.

In an attempt to nip it in the bud, I made each player and their parent read and sign a list of expectations this season. Each party plays an important role in order to achieve their expectations. Much of the onus falls on my, as manager to walk the razor’s edge and balance playing time with parent expectation of their player, while being competitive and making the season fun. Those are some big responsibilities. Managing parents, is something I don’t want to do. I don’t want to go face to face with a parent who is questioning my decisions or thought process when it comes to how we are learning or playing the game.

Thankfully I have a very good coaching staff, including one guy I coached with last year, who was up to speed with how I conduct and manage practices. My philosophy on games, I want to get players are much playing time as possible because we all know it sucks to sit on the bench but with 13 players, most will play 4 innings, while a few will player 5 innings. Talent on our team is across the board, we have a few exceptional players, a group of of good players and some who are still in the learning phase of baseball, which is the case of my son.

While I subscribe to Big Al’s philosophy of rotating players, I searched the Internet for other ways to rotate players. What I won’t do is play my best players 6 innings every game, regardless of how good they are. It is not win at all costs for, especially since every team will make the playoffs. What I do hope to gain is introducing players to multiple positions during the season. Nothing at all with teaching players to know 2-3 positions. Growing up I learned to catch, player first base and the outfield, which was a benefit as I was able to use my skills and maximize my potential.

Prior to the first practice I asked each player to provide me three positions they wanted to play, during practice we would break into groups and run infield and outfield drills for all players. Pitchers and catchers were the only groups that received special drills during practice. I’ll be curious to see if we have done enough to prepare kids for these positions. At a minimum each player will see three different positions during each game. Will that keep us competitive? Time will tell, hopefully it keeps the kids involved in the game and having fun.

I will miss Opening Day ceremonies, but I still remember as a youth marching into the groomed field, hearing all the parents and reciting the Little League Pledge.

I trust in God
I love my country
And will respect its laws
I will play fair
And strive to win
But win or lose
I will always do my best

I am looking forward another great season with my players, watching them grow and improve and come together as a team. Come Saturday it will be “PLAY BALL!” as we have an early afternoon game versus the A’s.