by Peter F. Ravenson

Created on: January 22, 2010   Last Updated: January 23, 2010

So you finally find yourself signing up to be a little league coach? Well lets hope that you don't make the mistake that a lot of "would be coaches" make by thinking their going to turn a bunch of children into a major league dynasty over a fifteen to twenty game season. Unlike a professional athlete these kids are still learning the fundamentals and if your going to be their leader, you got to be able to meet them at their level.

Most kids that join a little league team want to have fun and enjoy being around their friends and making more friends. Its best just to tell the kids that we're gonna have fun playing whether we're winning or losing and try helping them with their bigger weaknesses so that they can enjoy the game more. Hopefully by displaying the attitude that you want to help them they will acquire more confidence in their play and be driven to make the game a part of their life. Kids don't really need to be reminded to win. Its something that they already know. Showing your passion for the game can be very contagious for kids. Unfortunately if you start getting annoyed with bad plays and show them your frustration when you lose, that can have the opposite effect. Having a bad attitude is contagious too.

Each one of these kids has their own unique and not so unique issues. You have to believe no matter how much you think some of them will never get it, that they are an intricate part of the team and they have something to contribute. Everyone of them has something to contribute to the team. Its not always apparent when you look at face value, but your a coach; no one said that your job was easy. You might find this difficult to swallow, but even with the multi-millionaire players in the Bigs the coaches have to think a little to help a player play at their best when their not looking their best. You don't have to worry though, if your making this decision you more than likely have a good idea of how to work with kids.

Just make sure you observe more than you open your mouth and when your mouth opens make sure it counts in the positive direction. Most of those kids will not make it to the Majors, but depending on how you coach them could depend on how they approach life. You could be the coach that those kids remember into their sixties for showing them how to have fun and work as a team.  Just remember that coaching baseball is much more than teaching kids how to play America's past time, its also about teaching kids how to become awesome adults.

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