Saturday, June 28, 2014

A New Chapter Coming

Eleven years is a long time for anything.  It's probably longer than a lot of marriages last in today's "Hook up" mentality.  It has spanned half my marriage.  It covers the word "decade".  It spans two Presidential administrations.

I stand at the end of my Little League time.  Today is our closing ceremonies, and ending for me.  My daughter has decided not to return for another year of Little League.  My son has refused to play Little League, preferring travel baseball or even sitting out after playing over 130 games in the last three years.  He looks forward to starting his first real job after the upcoming holiday.

In our area, the youth game has gone from a Little League base with occasion travel to Travel based as a higher level of play than Little League.  Little League went from being the center of a community to the fringe.  Not saying there are all bad players, but the best aren't playing Little League in our District.

I see a couple of trends in general.  Little League has become the tee ball feeder system, although some 6U teams have sprung up.  I wonder who those are for, because it's not the players.  8U teams are allowing kids to play real ball, with lead offs and stealing.  10U are developing those players into game savvy players, who can even move to a big field at 12U.  It's a game of refinement at 14U, the final development point for High School.  Even High School ball is taking a hit as some kids are signing with colleges having never played High School baseball, only travel.

Little League continues it's model, successful as long as it was unchallenged.  It has basked in the glow of it's signature events, televised on ESPN, and taken the cash.  If the product on the field starts to deteriorate, the TV money will disappear, too.  The world's largest youth sports organization could go the route of the Edsel or the Beta videotape.

Little League may need to adopt a model similar to Cal Ripken or a number of other organizations.  Travel teams are formed the preceding fall, practicing lightly through the winter, then playing travel ball along with games within it's own park during the week, leaving the weekend free for tournament play.  It allows kids not on the same travel team to play with their friends during the week and get competitive over the weekend.  As long as the in park rules aren't too goofy, it's a good system.

One note: this system requires commitment.  Not just time, but money.  Paid help is going to be required to support an organization that plays as many games each week as this system allows.  The fields need to be kept, the concessions stocked and tracked, the equipment accounted for, the games umpired.  Volunteerism is still needed, too.  I talked about longer than marriages: the commitment level determines how much you get out of it.

I'm for whatever gets kids on the field.  After all, the life lessons being taught will happen there, and they will remember running the bases after a rainout longer than they will the games they played.

So...am I off base?

Thursday, June 26, 2014

A Rough Day

My last post mentioned that I was managing our 9-10 All Star Team and to stay tuned for updates.  Here's one.  Life isn't fair.

Most adults know this.  Kids have to learn it.  Where the two cross, it is a life lesson.  Sometimes, it is a very difficult lesson to learn.  Even harder when you may not see it coming.  I had to deal this lesson out tonight.  It wasn't what I wanted to do.

Our original roster had twelve players on it.  On the first round of phone calls, two players decided not to play, reducing the roster to 10.  One case was excused by the death of a close family member during the season.  The second was never explained, but as long as the parents believe it is in their child's best interest, I am in support.

So we started practice.  We had two practices with partial team.  Make up games took the other parts of the team.  We worked on skills.  Took some batting practice.  Assessed the skills.  Getting to know each other.  The fun was just beginning.

Then a third player decided to start summer early.  At nine players, too many things can go wrong.  Each girl must play and practice harder which takes more physically and mentally.  It takes one bad bounce to end the season.  Just one bad step to end everything prematurely.  It can lead to players playing on eggshells.  Careful is no way to play softball: the game was meant to be played all out.

It is the sad to tell a kid they can't play.  Without the kids, there is no game.  All Star teams mean nothing if there aren't enough kids to make a team.  The kids are the reason we do run programs and teach the great game.  The adults made a decision, the kids live with it.   Life lesson, not much fun.

So...am I off base?


Thursday, June 19, 2014

Random Thoughts- June 19

Some random thoughts while wondering how I got myself into coaching All Stars...

-Lucy Li shot an eight over par 78 in the opening round of the U.S. Women's Open.  It wouldn't be notable except that Lucy is 11 years old.  While some girls her age are still playing with Barbie, she is playing with the best women golfers in the world.  It is a bit precocious.

I hope she wins the whole tournament.  What America needs is an inspiration for all those parents who are trying to force their kids to achieve athletic success that eluded them.  It's called a retirement plan.

-It's All Star time in Little League.  I am managing our 9-10 softball team, interesting because I have coached at the major level all season.  I am looking forward to seeing some of these girls that I have coached with and against within the last five years.  It's fun to see what I started to teach and see how it has developed.  It is a reward for me, and I hope the girls feel that way, too.  Stay tuned for future updates.

-Clayton Kershaw pitched a historic game last night.  He threw a no-hitter, struck out fifteen and walked none, but the game wasn't perfect.  It's still pretty good for a guy who pitched early in the season and then went on the DL.  He is the best pitcher in the game today.  While Tanaka has more wins for the Yankees, the American League will figure him out in the second half of the season.  Kershaw goes merrily on.  It will be fun to watch.

-Finally, I'm overdue in addressing the U.S. Open Golf Championship.  Martin Kaymer made it a personal tournament, leading wire to wire.  He was known for overthinking.  He didn't have to at Pinehurst.  He did all his thinking ahead of time, and just executed.  It was calculated and impressive.  He has won two majors: it could be the start of many more.

So...am I off base?

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Father's Day

Father's Day is just another day to me.  I don't mind saying that because I am a father of two children.  The day means nothing to me.  The job is the important thing.

My son was born while I was an Assistant Golf Professional at a private club.  Fortunately, he was born in late October, when the golf season is winding down in Northern Indiana.  I had already committed to the following season, so I was off during the winter.  For six wonderful weeks, I spent all day taking care of our infant son and then worked part time evenings.

When the weather started to turn, I got ready for a new season and got handed the entire golf operation.  My boss, the head professional, left with a year remaining on his contract.  I kept the operations going, even kept it moving forward by opening some negotiations that had been closed for years.  I handed the keys to the new head professional in mid May.

It was a long season, breaking in a new boss, taking care of my members and working the long hours of a golf professional.  Toward the fall, it was clear I would be welcome for another season, but I became aware that my son doesn't know who I am.  Even those six weeks in the winter couldn't cement in that little mind that the stranger holding him was his father.

Focus on the Family had a show about how Fathers are needed to truly teach their sons to be men.  It talked about how God holds men accountable for their children.  Society is struggling because of the lost art of fatherhood.  Making a good income isn't enough.  Being a Dad is critical to the well being and future of the child, especially boys.

It was my last day as a professional.  While I finished the season honorably, I knew I was failing as a Christian, as a Husband, and as a Father.  I could not accept failure in those areas.  It was the day I became a real Dad.

I decided to be involved in my kid's lives.  I would get to every show, every game, and help with homework.  I would coach their teams, know their friends, and actually care.  I'm gonna make mistakes, but my hands will be on the project.  Fathers make a difference, and I was going to make a difference.

Am I doing well?  Time will tell.  I could do my job perfectly and still have a sociopaths.  I could do it poorly and have Ivy League graduates.  No guarantees.

It is still worth doing well.  Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Just make sure you're showing the right path.

So...am I off base?

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Why Do I Do This?

The game was over, the post mortem with assistant coaches and parents complete.  We gave the opponents seven outs in one inning and they scored ten runs.  Coach Little League teams long enough and you'll have these results occasionally.  If we were paid to coach, we couldn't keep our jobs.

Fortunately, I'm not paid to coach.  The question is: Why do I do this?  Why would anyone do this?

It starts in the heart.  I have a heart and, maybe, a gift for teaching and encouraging.  My motive is to teach and encourage.  Some days it will work, some days it won't.  All the teaching gets washed away some days, some days every little thing is remembered.

If your heart is totally set on winning, no matter what, the frustration will boil over quickly.  Children will be yelled at in anger and spirits crushed.  Kids like to win, too.  It's more fun than losing.  But humiliation sucks.  I hope I have never done that to a kid.  I probably have.

I like to win, too.  If players do what they are coached to do, learn the lessons we learn in playing the game, and do it with enthusiasm, winning will take care of itself.  I rarely use the W word when talking to the kids.  It tends to bring pressure, and pressure is no fun.

If I teach and encourage, maybe the player hangs with it and starts making plays.  Maybe the player, striking out dozens of times, fouls one off, then gets one in play.  Maybe the player forgets the situation and runs off when the pop fly is caught with one out, but learns to tag up.

So what, it's only a game.

When they're thinking about getting married, and he's being a jerk, they hang with him and he learns how to be the man he should be.  When they have a child who can't or won't obey, they stay consistent and the child learns.  The job they studied for is hard, and they keep adjusting until they make a great living.

Don't tell me sports are only a game.  It is life.  The lessons are learned forever.  They are handed to the next generation.

Sports are the High School first baseman who can't hit, but plays college ball when he starts hitting.  He eventually becomes an E.R. Doctor and saves lives on a daily basis.  That player learned grace under pressure.  Sports are the basketball player, tall, gangly and unwanted, who becomes a productive player and then the first in his family to go to college.  That player learned accomplishment.  Sports are the High School quarterback who uses his leadership to become a police officer, and pays the ultimate price protecting the innocent.  That player learned courage.

Sports is an uncoordinated geek picking up golf, building a game through persistence to the point of participating at a Big Ten school and as a club professional.  That geek learned persistence.

Sports are more than the game.  They are life.

So...am I off base?

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Random Thoughts-June 11

Random thoughts while waiting for the Sandman to show up.

-The more I watch Mike Trout, the more impressed I am with what he can do.  He has a total package.  His glove, the power, the speed, the arm and the good guy around the locker room and with the fans  is a rare combination in today's climate of overpaid backups and relief pitchers who can't get my daughter out.  He is a special player that could end up in a special place.  Injuries and a huge contract could be the only things that could stop him.

When he's healthy, I enjoy watching Matt Kemp.  He plays like the best players of my era, with a hustle of the players that love the game.  Maybe that's what separates these players I enjoy watching from watching A-Rod, talent and love of the game.  Isn't that how it's supposed to be?

-The U.S. Open Golf Championship tees off in the morning at Pinehurst #2.  Like all USGA events: Narrow fairways, hard fast greens, and impossible rough.  Harder than Chinese geometry, either Mandarin or Szechwan.  It's the kind of golf course that crowns a great champion.  Michael Campbell not withstanding, Pinehurst crowns Byron Nelson and Lloyd Mangrum champion of the North-South Championship.  Payne Stewart was a worthy champion, who never got to defend his title.

What kind of champion will Pinehurst crown?  I would love to see Phil Mickelson use the imagination around the greens to win the Championship he really wants.  I see a champion of another major getting his first Open:Zack Johnson, Dustin Johnson, maybe a recently rejuvenated Ben Crane.

I just wonder how the course will hold up when the Women's Open begins next week.  I believe the ladies will get the short end of the stick.  The wear and tear on the golf course form the U.S. Open takes a great golf course a long time to recover.  I'm not sure how the best women golfers in the world will have conditions worthy of their championship.  I hope turf science has advanced to the point where the most peak conditions can be maintained long enough to give the women the conditions they deserve.

So...am I off base?

Sunday, June 8, 2014

A Week Late

The year was 1991.  The date was June 1.  Ceremony started at 2 pm.  Unlike half the people married on that day, we are still married.  Mr. and Mrs. David Koehl.

Yes, I know I am a week late with this post.  I didn't forget my anniversary.  We just don't celebrate it like other people.  We celebrate it when we can.  It can be a common malady among Little League coaches with anniversaries in May through July.  It may also be payback for something I did with the engagement.

LuAnn, my wife, comes from a very straight laced, traditional family.  I am the youngest of ten children, a family which belted three kinds of balls: golf balls, fastballs, and highballs.  She comes from a family which stays within the lines.  I come from a family which can't stay within the lines, even if we can see them.

I couldn't stand the thought of a traditional wedding.  I wanted something that would look different, be memorable.  Something the kids could laugh at when they saw the pictures.  I would only do this once, I wanted to do it different.

Different doesn't describe my wife's family.  They work their jobs, do the best they can, and leave work as soon as possible.  Eat dinner, TV and early to bed, early to rise.  Good, decent, hardworking people.  I'm sure I was just tolerated and maybe they hoped God would guide LuAnn in a different direction.

After 20 months of dating, I knew where my future would be.  However, I still wanted something different for a wedding.  Blue jeans and tennis shoes, maybe?  Not happening.  Ballpark wedding?   Uh, no.  Guess I would need to make the engagement memorable.

I had the connections.  I worked with Bethel Baseball, and we hosted the National Christian College Athletic Association National Baseball Tournament at Coveleski Stadium, home of the South Bend WhiteSox.  At the time, they were the Class A team in the Midwest League.  I worked out a scoreboard engagement for the biggest night of the season, the visit of the Famous Chicken.  The story was good: it came up on the scoreboard, I asked her to marry me, she said yes and then told me to go get her a hot dog.

I've been paying for that ever since.  My son, a blessing after seven years of marriage, plays the game well.  My daughter resisted, but eventually took to softball.  We have spent the majority of our anniversaries, including our 20th, with the kids at a ballpark.  The actual celebration comes much later.  Games and practices come first.  She knew she was marrying a sports fan and a coach.

Besides, each day has had it's moments of fun at the old ballpark.  It keeps getting better, even when it's tough.  Every marriage has it's ups and downs, and we are no different.  It's the choice to love after the feeling has waned which makes all the difference.  A little giving, a little taking, and a lot of respect and love are why we are still married today.

So...am i off base?

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Character Counts

No one signs up for this when they decide to coach Little League.  Preparation is important, but one cannot prepare for this.  Life happens quickly, and it showed up on my smarter-than-I-am phone.

I got a text from one of my parents last night asking if I had heard about another parent on the team.  It was the kind of text that makes you draw in a deep breath and wonder "What did I do now?"

I honestly answered "Sorry, no.  Why do I think this isn't a good thing..."

The reply: "Her dad fell this weekend and died.  The kids got a letter at school today."

The words lay on the screen, almost daring me to wake up.  It was a mixture of disbelief and the wish another text would come through saying, "April Fool!"  It would have been a cruel April Fool joke, but one I would have approved.

The phone stayed silent.  Guess I gotta deal with it.

Found out the visitation was the same time as our next practice.  Cancelled that and encouraged the families to attend.  As I was sending, an offer came from the same parent to get a plant from the team, and I sent a coordinating text.  I had to explain to a couple of families what had happened: we draw from different schools.  My daughter attends a private school, so she wouldn't have seen a letter.

I was not looking forward to the visitation.  I talk to crowds in public address form, coach in front of them, and even played golf in front of large galleries.  I never liked large gatherings of people: parties, school gatherings, social events.  It is different than grabbing a microphone or speaking to a team.  I don't do cliques.

What I saw made me proud of my girls.  I didn't see them all, but that wasn't important.  I saw several of my players running together, without the tears of loss, being respectful, and being teammates.  I've tried to teach more about life than softball, and the lessons seems to stick.  They'll forget the games, and the defensive rotations (I'm not sure they ever learned them, anyway!) but they will remember the teammates.

As we were arriving, I saw a very brave young lady that I have coached for years.  She was empathetic and fighting tears.  Perhaps she was remembering the days when she laid her own mother to rest a few years ago.  She was brave to go, and I'm proud of her.  Most young people would have run away or made an excuse.  She faced the fear, and did it anyway.  That, my friends, is the definition of courage.

I let my daughter run with her team for a few minutes before we had to return to our regularly scheduled life.

So...am I off base?
 

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