As coaches we often try to help our emulates the moves of their favorite players or a player we feel can add value to their game. As youth coaches we also need people to emulate. Sure we could look at great professional coaches like John Wooten or current Cards manager, Mike Matheny, but here are a couple of great examples from youth baseball coaches we can all learn from.
This is one from this year’s Little League World Series. Coach Joel Jensen to speak to the pitcher, his son Isaiah. Have a listen:
Little League World Series Coach Visits Mound to Tell Son How Much He Loves Him #GoodStuff pic.twitter.com/5pZ4FskvKc
— SportsCast (@SportsCast_THN) August 22, 2016
In this next video, David Belisle, one of the most inspirational coaches in Little League World Series history, speaks to his Cumberland American LL team after it’s crushing 8-7 loss to Jackie Robinson West of Chicago, Illinois after last years Little League World Series:
There are several things to pick up from this video:
1. He waits until they all have their eyes on him (no matter how difficult it is for some of the boys) before he starts talking.
2. He is honest and not afraid to share his emotions.
3. He focuses in on what they team could control, their effort not the outcome.
If your kid’s coach does not sound as quite as inspirational as these coaches, at least be sure they are coaching because they care about developing kids and not just about winning games. Baseball can be a confidence killer with the amount of failure we see in the game, don’t let your kid’s coach destroy his passion, fun or confidence in the game.
Bryan Eisenberg
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.