Youth Baseball Coach Decks Blue

[schwabach]

I had hoped Covid killed the high five line for good, but alas, it has returned.

Forced sportsmanship isn't sportsmanship at all. If players who know each other want to exchange a few words postgame, cool, but I really don't see a need for it to be a team thing.

One thing I like about MLB is seeing basemen chatting with runners they know.

 

[CoachJD]

This probably should be a thread on its own.

1.) Forced sportsmanship ? Parents, coaches and the like are lucky to have an opportunity to educate, shape and lead by example ... 10U athletes (and much older - aka Freshman 15) would eat ice cream for dinner if left to their own devices. IMHO it hurts no one (minus Covid19 protocol) to show them that it is just a game, leave it on the field and tomorrows another day.

You're making people shake hands and say good game. I can't think of a more apt definition for "forced sportsmanship."

And when you do that, when it becomes a rote exercise, it loses all meaning.

Hurts no one?

I've had a player punched in the face during this act of "good sportsmanship." Just last week, a girl on our middle school baseball team was groped by a little piece of shirt on the opposing team (side note: I think it'd be right and just to charge his parents with sexual assault since he's still young, but the message should be sent somehow).

Get rid of it. It teaches literally nothing at all.

 

[_MIA_]

Out of the 10 memories you say you have from your playing time hopefully at least one of those is a good memory!

1 of them.

 

[radness]

humble opinion is that we could do it a better way or not at all and everyone will be just fine.

It is not without its good or bad. Agree not sure it is necessary. Probably in 2020 many teams were just doing a cheer and that was fine.
But for some reason line came back.

 

[GIMNEPIWO]

You're making people shake hands and say good game. I can't think of a more apt definition for "forced sportsmanship."

And when you do that, when it becomes a rote exercise, it loses all meaning.

Hurts no one?

I've had a player punched in the face during this act of "good sportsmanship." Just last week, a girl on our middle school baseball team was groped by a little piece of shirt on the opposing team (side note: I think it'd be right and just to charge his parents with sexual assault since he's still young, but the message should be sent somehow).

Get rid of it. It teaches literally nothing at all.

I see your point now. If someone at some point in their lives would have just stopped forcing sportsmanship on those 2 players on the opposing teams by having them shake hands after a contest, unfortunate things like you mention would stop happening in youth sports. I'm certain that's where their bad behavior comes from. I saw in the paper last week that one of my former athletes from 10 years ago was arrested in a drug raid ... Damn hand shake.

 

[_MIA_]

I see your point now. If someone at some point in their lives would have just stopped forcing sportsmanship on those 2 players on the opposing teams by having them shake hands after a contest, unfortunate things like you mention would stop happening in youth sports. I'm certain that's where their bad behavior comes from. I saw in the paper last week that one of my former athletes from 10 years ago was arrested in a drug raid ... Damn hand shake.

If you were to ask your players why the end of game handshake is important and they give answers like “to show the other team we respect their play” or “ to put our in-game differences aside” , as opposed to the generic “to show sportsmanship” then it perhaps is doing what it is intended to do. So perhaps the key is to communicate to your players what “sportsmanship” really entails

 

[PJR202]

I've never seen any bad behavior in a high five line.

 

[GIMNEPIWO]

If you were to ask your players why the end of game handshake is important and they give answers like “to show the other team we respect their play” or “ to put our in-game differences aside” , as opposed to the generic “to show sportsmanship” then it perhaps is doing what it is intended to do. So perhaps the key is to communicate to your players what “sportsmanship” really entails

I agree about the key being communication with the players ... Would you agree that players can also pick up signals, verbal and non-verbal alike, from the coaches ? So, lets say a coach has made it clear that they feel that the fist bump line is foolish, might the players not pick up on that and act accordingly ?

Played on the same team with my brother for years ... He would only shake hands with the other team if we won ... Until this day he has the north bound sense of a south bound horse.

 

[_MIA_]

I agree about the key being communication with the players ... Would you agree that players can also pick up signals, verbal and non-verbal alike, from the coaches ?

Of course.

So, lets say a coach has made it clear that they feel that the fist bump line is foolish, might the players not pick up on that and act accordingly ?

Sure. That said I have found that kids today are a lot less willing to just take an authority figure's "word as truth" (to their credit in a lot of circumstances..annoying as it can be as a parent )

 

[schwabach]

Florida - Auburn (Clint Myers was coach). Haley Fagan and Tim Walton had a moment in the good game line where some, I suppose, bad blood with Clan Fagan and Tim Walton came to the surface.