Youth Sports Coaching Quandary

Set the scene: I coach my son's 10 year old traveling baseball team (traveling is code for competitive). Last weekend I faced both sides of the coaching quandary in less than a 24 hour span. What is the coaching quandary, you say? It's the fine line between "having fun" and "win at all costs". Every youth coach faces it at least once a season. In my case, I saw both sides in a very short span.

Scene 1: We're playing a completely overmatched Eden Prairie team (man, the 4 words overmatched, eden, prairie and team sound so nice together by the way) last Friday. Prior to the game, the other team's coach is giving a speech to the kids about having "fun" (which is code in sports for make sure you smile when you get beat), blah, blah, blah.

Scene 2: Next day we are playing an undefeated team from Minneapolis (note: our Bloomington team is .500). These guys are hitting our best pitcher all over the park, they are running the bases with reckless abandon, delayed double steals, etc all with a comfortable 10 run lead. Blah, blah, blah, blah.

So which is it? Do you preach "let's have fun" or do you preach "beat them until they bleed"? Obviously it is somewhere in between. As a coach in scene 1, we did everything in our power to make the game enjoyable for our kids as well as theirs without running roughshod over them. In scene 2, we did everything in our power to tell the kids.."the best way to stop that play is to defend it" and maintain your dignity while the other team is rubbing your face in it. Plain as day the other team whipped us, we gotta get better.

You guys got any food for thought?

My new favorite team

Montreal Canadiens....holy smokes they beat the Caps, now they beat the Pens. I'm sure they are scratching their names on Lord Stanley as we speak in Montreal.

I can just hear some scratchy voiced rube on Montreal sports talk radio (insert Jacque Lemaire voice)...itz onlee a maddir of time beefore we win anudder one....geux habs!

I'm heartbroken on the Pens defeat...was cheering for Gologoski and Leopold, but still holding a grudge against Sid for the Olympics.

What's left:

San Jose: Nope (nice team....they have 2 too many ex Badgers to like them)

Chicago: Nope (I still see Al Secord when I see that sweater)

Philly & Philly : Nope (no reason, their teams just don't have that star)

Normally I don't cheer for the Frogs, but if you beat the 2 best teams in the East you deserve a little love.