Hilarious Ways We’ve Taken Coaching Little League Too Seriously [AUDIO]
I love to volunteer to coach Ryan's Little League team, but my coaching cost his team the game last weekend. I beat myself up over it for the entire week. We brought it up on the air and it was comforting to know that I am not the only one. The phone calls made me realize that my error in coaching wasn't even close to what these other coaches did that cost their kids the game.
Last Saturday I was coaching third base for my son, Ryan's Little League team. It was fun. I told them all to look for me for the steal signs and to listen for me to tell them when to run. It was all going pretty well until the last inning. We were behind nine to eight in the bottom of the sixth. We had a runner on third with two outs. The ball got past the catcher and I told the runner to go. I thought she could make it and steal home. She was clearly out. The game ended and we lost all because of me.
My son was no help consoling me. On the ride home, he kept asking why I sent her. I just explained that we all make mistakes and no one is perfect. I really thought she could make it. When we got home, she told his mom (who wasn't at the game) that I had cost them the game.
When we talked about it on the air I was still beating myself up over it. Brian tried to make me feel worse but the listeners made me feel a whole lot better. One woman called to tell me that her husband did a similar thing at their son's game except, in an effort to get the kid to run faster to score, he gave him a little push. It's a rule that you can't touch the kids running the bases but that's not all he did. When he gave him a push, the kid tripped and fell flat on his face.
Thank God for our listeners because now I don't feel as bad. Something tells me that I will be the dugout coach at the next game, though.