After easily winning our first two games, my 7-8 year old Coach Pitch Cubs lost their first baseball game last Saturday. It was a tough loss - we played a REALLY good team thatwas stacked with all 8 year olds.
I’m not new to kid sports . . . I played them, my kids play them, and I coach them. Parents are amazing people. When things go right, the coach is great. When things go wrong, the coach needs all kinds of advice.
At the game last Saturday . . .
. . . the parents saw some of our kids get thrown out at first base because they didn’t run through the base.
. . . I saw those same kids so excited that they hit the ball for the very first time that all they wanted to do was stop at first so they could tell the 1st base coach all about it.
. . . the parents saw kids who didn’t know to throw the ball to 1st base.
. . . I saw kids who properly fielded a ground ball for the first time instead of letting it roll between their legs.
. . . the parents saw outfielders who didn’t know to throw the ball to 2nd base when they got it.
. . . I saw outfielders who remembered to back up the infielders when the ball was hit.
. . . the parents saw a kid who forgot to cover 1st base when the ball was hit.
. . . I saw a kid who was having way too much fun playing in a mud puddle to care if they ever covered first base.
. . . the parents saw some kids who struck out every time they were up to bat.
. . . I saw kids who came back to the dugout smiling the biggest smile ever because they actually hit the ball for the first time, even though it went foul.
. . . the parents saw a team that lost the game 7 runs to 18 runs.
. . . I saw 10 kids who had a great time out on the field on a beautiful Saturday, smiled as they shook the other team’s hand, congratulated them on a good game, and could have cared less what the score was.
. . . the parents saw a team who’s coach needed all kinds of advice on what we needed to work on at practice this week.
. . . I saw a coach who knows exactly what her team needs to work on, but can also see all the great little things that the kids improved on since week one and were absolutely ecstatic about.
It’s not always about the score . . . however, to the kids, it might actually be about the snack surprise after the game 