From Baseball

Youth Baseball Coaches Must Honor Player Questions About Playing Time

“Coach, can I play more at third base?”

We hear lots of questions like that from players with all sorts of abilities.  The requests can quickly get old.   After all, we have a plan.  We have a routine.  We have a strategy.

While all of that is important, we have to remember the larger picture of what we’re trying to accomplish with youth sports:  give kids a great experience and help them learn and grow as ballplayers AND people. 

While they may feel pesky to us, asking the coach for more playing time is a big deal for most kids.  They usually don’t have to advocate for themselves that much – especially this generation.  Parents often dictate schedules, coordinate logistics, and smooth details so that the kids just show up and play.  While there’s an efficiency to this that may be appealing, kids need to learn those skills for themselves.  It’s a critical life skill.

5 things Coaches Should Do

So the next time Johnny comes to you and asks what he can do to move up in the batting order, here are five things to keep in mind to make sure you make the most of this coaching opportunity to develop a ballplayer AND person:

1. Validity.  Consider the validity of the request.  With all that rattles through a coach’s mind, we may overlook getting a kid playing time at a position or not realize he’s been hitting in the nine-hole for the last five games.  Acknowledging the oversight and changing things at the next game is an easy fix.
2. Question.  In a supportive way, ask the player why this would be good for him and good for the team.  This helps him put things in a larger context than, “Gee, I just want to play shortstop.”  Coaches can quickly tie their answers back to team goals, rules and expectations.
3. Improvements.  Usually there’s a good reason Jimmy isn’t playing five innings every game at second base.  He has deficiencies, either in his ability or mechanics, or there may be maturity or behavior issues that are holding him back.  Coaches should explain these deficiencies AND what steps the kid needs to take to get more of what he wants.  “Jimmy, I need you to get better at staying down on ground balls and making good throws to first.  If you work hard at that at practice – and maybe with your mom and dad too – you can help the team at second base.”  Now Jimmy understands why he hasn’t been getting the playing time and has something to motivate his improvement.
4. Alternatives.  Josh may really want to play catcher.  But if he’s got a weak arm and is left handed, catcher may not be where he should be spending his time – for his long-term good and that of the team.  Try giving him an alternative.  “Josh, I’d like to see you get more time at first base.  That seems like a great spot for you, and here’s why it would be good for you AND the team . . .”  Do try to give him a little of what he wants at catcher.  When it’s a blowout, let him strap on the gear.
5. Personal Development.  It takes a great deal of courage for most kids to confront the coach about playing time.  We have to realize that overcoming this fear and developing a logical argument and honing communication skills are the same things they’ll use in high school to talk to teachers about grades, missing assignments and disciplinary issues.  They’re the same ones they’ll use as they join the workforce to ask for the shifts, assignments, and raises they want.  For this reason alone, coaches need to make these interactions as positive as possible for kids so that they gain comfort and confidence in advocating for themselves.

Our Legacy as Coaches

If we help kids learn these advocacy skills, that’s what they’re going to remember about their playing experience with us.  That’s our legacy as coaches . . . not whether we went 12-8 or 10-10 that summer with our 9-year-olds.

In the end we can’t give everyone what they want, and tough decisions need to be made.  But if we keep in mind the larger opportunities that youth sports affords, we can find ways to accelerate the growth of our kids and do our part to make them productive members of society.