B-log

Reflections on years as a sports dad and coach

• There’s a lot more pink in softball than baseball. This gets less so as the kids age.
• Children under the age of seven like to play in dirt, regardless of sex
• Boys will tackle each other to be the first to get to a ball. Girls are much more polite in their approach. This is also true in basketball.
• Coaches for boys think that what they’re doing today for 5-year olds could make or break whether or not they get to the big leagues. Coaches for girls think that what they’re doing for the 5 year-old girls will make or break whether or not the girls will have fun that day.
• Both groups really need a lot of work on fielding grounders, dribbling the ball, and listening to the coach.
• Dads of either group tend to be more insecure about their child’s performance than do moms.
• Parents of either group can be the most un-fun part of the sport.
• Kids accomplish much more with encouragement than by humiliation or dread.