A few weeks ago I was chatting with a few higher-ups of a local little league organization. They were lamenting about the intrusive role of some parents in the organization. They felt something more
I don’t care what the umpire did or said. This little league coach (Mitch Williams) is totally out of line.
needed to be done to temper their behavior during games. The conversation eventually swung around to umpires and one of them mentioned something in passing. He was talking about a particular umpire and how another friend of theirs was thrown out of the game by this particular ump. They laughed about it and moved on to something else. I stopped them and asked “how many coaches in your organization got thrown out of games last year?” They said about 5 or 6. I told them that was about 5 or 6 too many.
It’s ok if people disagree but my feeling is that it is not acceptable for a coach below the college level to be thrown out of games. At the college and pro levels there are definite reasons for getting thrown out and some have nothing to do with the umpires. I’ll have to chat about that in another post.
We coaches spend a lot of time complaining about how parents are not able to keep their emotions in check during and after games. Before we address them, we need to look ourselves in the mirror first. If you are a coach below the college level, you have to realize that any flare up of your temper is going to send a very strong message to players and parents that chirping at umpires and letting your temper get the best of you is fair game. It isn’t.
If we want parents and players to conduct themselves in a respectful manner at all times, we have to set a good example by showing everyone how to correctly manage adversity. Trust me. I know it can be very hard but it’s essential that coaches at the lower levels do this at all times. If not, we shouldn’t expect the parents to be any different.
Tomorrow’s post: Bump your glove if you are a beginning pitcher
