November 4th was National Coach Appreciation day. Did you even know that was a thing? Well, I didn’t and the day has already come and gone. But now that I know, I will have to send out some belated thank-you emails to a few people who need to know that I appreciate them.
I think most of us know how much coaches contribute to the lives of our kids. They are mentors in more ways than only with sports issues. Our kids see what kind of people they are. That’s important to remember when choosing a team that your kid will be on. No one is born knowing how to be a good baseball coach, but some of them just have IT. Out of the all the qualities a good sports coach should have, leadership skills has to be number one.
Our family has been fortunate when it comes to baseball. We have had some really good coaches throughout my boys’ careers and many are still family friends to this day. They weren’t always the most knowledgeable, but the ones who weren’t were still good role models for my boys. Their hearts were in the right place and they were giving their time to help my boys and other kids succeed at something they all loved, and that’s what mattered.
A lot of people like to complain about coaches and yes, there are some coaches who take “Daddy Ball” to a new level. But don’t you think that’s a smaller percentage than the good guys who are out there after work until dark, hitting fly balls to our kids and getting home after dinner time? I’m convinced that’s the case.
My younger son was very lucky to have played for a current college coach who had played on the first Chico State national championship team. The knowledge of the game he has is outstanding and his ability to teach and garner respect from the kids was amazing.
We are very blessed to be able to call his family our friends and were very relieved that he and his wife escaped with their lives from the Las Vegas concert shooting. It was a terrifying time and our community is fortunate to have them with us.
And speaking of phenom coaches, my younger son also had the opportunity to play for a guy named Tom Meusborn. Google him. He’s a legend here in the San Fernando Valley and Chatsworth High School. He won 8 city championships and his team got to play at Dodger Stadium 16 times.
He stepped away from high school coaching at the exact time my son joined the travel team that he decided to coach, and I feel like we couldn’t have been luckier.
My son learned almost as much from Coach Meusborn in two years than he learned in all the time he played baseball before that. There’s just something about the way he teaches and coaches that makes the kids want to learn. And he does it without ever yelling. And watching him coach is a thing of beauty. He just sees the field and everything going on at once like the conductor of an orchestra. He’s definitely a baseball savant and I’ve never seen someone coach like he does.
The boys who played for him on our team are all on high school baseball teams now and I look forward to seeing them do great things. And I have to give him a lot of the credit.
Always remember that those coaches could be doing other things with their time instead of working with our kids. Sometimes coaches even take off work or give their entire weekends to coach our kids in tournaments. Yes, many times it’s because their own kids are on the teams, but they could just as easily work with their own kids. They deserve our thanks for that time and all of the effort. I’m sure they go home tired. I’ve gotten out there and hit balls to my kids a few times and it takes a lot of energy.
Anyway, I just wanted to say a heartfelt “Thank you” to all of the coaches who helped my kids along the way. Oh and while I’m at it, I’d like to thank the coach’s wives for putting up with all of it and picking up the slack your husbands left you while they were helping our kids. All of that has made a difference to us and I really appreciate it. <3
If you liked this, you might enjoy reading, A Letter to My Baseball Sons
