Jeez, what now?

Tony Altobelli

I’m baaaaack.

I just wanted to wrap up this little trilogy with some more helpful

hints for all involved in youth baseball to make sure that everyone is

having fun with it. That’s what it’s all about, right?

I’ll name this, “Youth Baseball for Dummies.” No offense.

First chapter belongs to the players.

Step one: Pretend you are playing ball in the backyard, because

really, that’s about how important all this really is. Last time I

checked, there were no scouts at any of the games I checked out and the

only reporter I saw was, well, me. Besides, I only write about the good

stuff anyways, so if you make an error or strikeout with the bases

loaded, I won’t tell anyone.

Step two: Play only if you are having fun. The one major negative

about year-round baseball is that there is a serious risk of burnout.

Tell the folks that you want to try basketball or football or music or

anything else and if you truly love baseball, you’ll be excited to get

back into it after the break.

Step three: Respect the game. Baseball is great because it not only

teaches you how to work with others, it gives you great self-discipline.

Do the little things like running out to your position, nonstop hustle

and do NOT make fun of any player on either your team or the other team

for making a mistake. Remember, you’re only a called third strike,

bobbled grounder or dropped fly ball away from being in the same

situation.

Step four: Practice with the same intensity you play the game. My dad

used to always say that junk to me and he said it so many times, I

started to follow it. You want to stop making errors and striking out so

much in games? Work harder in practice. If you’re not getting enough

practice, work on your own after practice. I would spend hours with a

tennis ball and a wall, fielding grounder after grounder after grounder.

It really pays off.

Final step: Listen and think. Pay attention to your coach and when on

defense, ask yourself on every pitch (just like dad told me), “What am I

going to do if the ball is hit to me?” If you don’t know, ask the coach

and he’ll tell you.

Next chapter is for the parents. Brace yourselves.

Step one: SHHHHHHH! I get a headache by the second inning every time I

go to a ball game. You don’t need to be in a constant state of

communication with your child. Don’t you hate it at work when five people

are telling you something at the same time? Well, don’t do that to your

kid. He knows he’s doing a great job and everything is fine. Don’t get me

wrong, encouragement is great, but minute-by-minute updates cause the

meaning to be lessened. Even a nine-year-old knows that.

Step two: Again, SHHHHH! This comes to blurting out instructions while

the game is taking place. If your child is batting, he’s trying to do the

hardest thing in all of sports, which is hitting a round baseball with a

round stick from a short distance away. If his back foot is crooked, or

if his front knee is a tad out of line, tell him about it, AFTER THE

GAME! If he’s worrying about where his head, hands, elbows, fingers,

knees and feet are AS WELL AS try to figure out how to hit this upcoming

fastball, curveball, slider, knuckleball, etc., you might as well take

the bat out of his hands.

Step three: Once again, SHHHHH! This comes in regard to the umpires.

One of the lessons that all parents try to teach their child is good

sportsmanship. Well, yelling and the ump or questioning a coach’s

decision, does NOT fall under the good sportsmanship category. In fact,

it makes you look less mature than the players who are playing the game.

Keep in mind, during the regular season, umpires are mainly high school

kids or first-time officials trying to find their way in this game. Cut

them some slack. The game will be more fun to watch.

Step four: You guessed it, SHHHHHHH! This is in regard to ragging on

coaches and managers. These parents are volunteering their time and

effort for free to help better your child’s baseball skills and is

hopefully teaching them some life stuff, too. It’s so easy to complain

about the manager’s decisions about playing time and batting orders and

pitching changes. If you don’t like it, by all means, do it yourself for

a season. You’d get a better perception of what they have to go through.

Step five: Reality check. Your child has a better chance becoming the

Emperor of Mars then they do becoming Major League Baseball players, so

please keep the game fun for the child. If you don’t see them having fun,

get them into something else, at least for a little while. If you want to

give your child and yourself a great dream? How about dreaming about

watching your kid playing at Edison Field for the CIF Championship? Ask

some of the CdM parents how cool that was.

Final chapter is for the coaches. Take a knee.

Step one: Absolutely, positively, NO YELLING! This is youth baseball

we’re talking about here, not a tryout for the San Diego Padres coaching

staff. Yelling to reach the attention of a player is fine, but that’s

about it. Remember, you are dealing with CHILDREN here and they’re trying

to play a game that can make professionals look like bumbling fools.

Relax and communicate with your players and you’ll have a better

response.

Step two: Maximize practices. If your practices consist of catch,

batting practice and working on pregame cheers, that’s a serious waste of

valuable time.

I remember spending a half-hour a day sitting with the team as our

coach went over situations on a chalkboard. You’d be amazed on how much

we learned and then applied it to our practices. Practices were fun, busy

and nonstop. AND, there was only one coach, not a manager and two

coaches, so there’s no excuse. Be creative, use all your sources and

don’t be afraid to call a high school or college coach for tips.

Step three: Don’t be too fancy, especially with the younger players.

You can’t teach a gymnast to flip on a balance beam when they can’t even

stand on the darn thing. Start with playing catch, then go to grounders,

then to fly balls, then to hitting, then to baserunning. Once those

basics are more comfortable, only then can you fine-tune a player’s

skills. Save the fake-bunt slashes and squeeze plays for Pony baseball.

Step four: Take control. Like was discussed in Wednesday’s column, set

the ground rules on Day 1, for both players and parents. No helmet

throwing, no cursing, no backtalk, things like that. If a player abuses

those rules, they’re yanked from the game, period. If a parent gets out

of line, they are first warned, then are asked to leave the area. Does

all this stuff suck? Yes. Is it necessary? You betcha.

Step five: And this is the most important. When a reporter comes up to

you after a game, have something interesting to say. “He pitched great

today,” and “It was a good win,” are way over-used. Be creative, be funny

and above all else, HAVE FUN!