According to the sports page of
this newspaper, Celebration, after some seasons of struggling with losing
seasons in high school baseball got a new coach, and as it turns out, a few new
players who were apparently pretty talented.
This talent led to the some of
the returning players at Celebration losing playing time, and as far as I know,
perhaps starting positions on the team.
This led to immediate
parent-complaining and speculation that the coach had engaged in FHSAA policy
violations with respect to recruiting of new players.
It then led to an investigation
and the resignation of the coach – even though the investigation found that he
had not committed any policy violation.
All he did, apparently, was
commit the cardinal sin of benching inferior players for superior ones.
I should mention that I am the
head baseball coach at Legacy High School.
Legacy has fielded a baseball team for the past two years. In 2016 we won seven games and lost eighteen. This year we finished 9-16. Two losing seasons in a row for this school
where most of the players have not played organized baseball since they were
twelve.
This season one of our returning
players – a senior – was beaten out by a freshman for a starting infield
position.
This senior responded to his
demotion by showing genuine leadership on and off the field. He was a calming influence during games when
younger players were struggling and he took whatever playing time that came his
way in a manner that exemplified dignity, maturity and a selflessness that was
admired by everyone on the team. In
short, he acted like an adult.
I was aided by the fact that his
parents never said one word about his demotion, reduced playing time or
anything else for that matter. They were
always supportive, made no excuses for him and did not allow him to become a
“victim” of his coach’s decision.
By contrast, one dad at
Celebration was quoted as saying that he was going to take his two boys and go
home after the new coach allowed the new players to have more playing time.
How sad.
I can only imagine how this is
going to play out for his sons as they go on to college and the “real
world”. I can see it now. The mean professor gives them a grade they
don’t “deserve” so they quit and go home.
The harsh boss denies them a raise or promotion so they quit and go
home. Their heartless wife expects them
to help with dirty diapers and they walk away from their duties as husbands and
fathers.
I have a suggestion for the
parents at Celebration – or any other school – where your precious child has
been put on the bench in favor of a better player.
Shut up and deal with it.
I tell my players every spring
that I am not interested in anything their parents think about my lineup
card. The players who put in the most
effort, have the best attitudes and are most productive play. The others play less – and sometimes not at
all.
My players are told that playing
high school baseball is a privilege, not a right and that they will discover as
young men that the world is not fair and that mommy and daddy cannot – and
should not – always rush in to save them from that reality.
As a result, our players at
Legacy are getting better at baseball and at the long walk towards manhood.
This may not mean that they have
a winning record next year, or the year after that. What it should mean is that when they leave
high school they are better prepared to meet the challenges that are going to
be in front of them for the rest of their lives.
The time has come to stop
coddling our kids by threatening to quit and go home. Instead we should tell our kids that if they
want to be a starter, or get accepted into a great college, or be promoted in
their job some day they have to be better than the next best competitor.
