Posted by: Scott B (batspeed@integritycorp.com) on Fri May 31 08:47:46 2002

So, what do you folks think of coaches who have that opinion? I've heard it from two this year, one who is known nationally, and my jaw just about dropped.

The thing I've noticed in the past is that the quality of coaching in youth sports is very inconsistent. Some, if not most kids, are never taught proper fundamentals. I've always told my own kids that NO ONE knows their potential, that potential is something one discovers on his or her own, though intensive training and hard work. And also, the "fun" comes after the hard work. Most kids never get to the point of "fun", because of poor adult leadership and poor training, in my opinion.

But my daughter has not hit well the past two seasons, still wants to play baseball (there are no women's leagues that I know of, so it means completing with the 13-14 yo boys), and my son has just about lost interest in baseball after two losing, mediocre seasons. (His team managers in the last two seasons ended team practices after about the fourth week of the season, with predictable results.)

Maybe my kids don't belong in baseball. But as long as they want to put out the effort, I'll never stop trying to give them the opportunities.

Am I wrong?

Regards,

Scott B.