Hey, don't yell at the umps (or at me)

Some people say a person’s character and morality are defined by what he or she does when no one is looking. I guess that's right.

But sometimes, character can also be revealed when everyone is looking. When you are a parent, just know everyone is looking, especially your children.

I’ve been coaching baseball since they made me give back my player’s uniform in college after an injury to my shoulder just didn’t get better. Surgery at that time meant you were done anyway, so I started coaching to stay involved with the game.

It is what I love, just as some people golf or ski or play tennis; I’ve coached baseball for more than 30 years, before I had children of my own. From T-ballers to college-level players and every age in between. We still have on tape (yes, tape) my oldest kid's 8-year-old championship game from the 1988 season. We have the pizza party, too. Wild times.

But just because I've been coaching since the 1970s doesn’t mean I've always gotten it right, only that I mainly know how to get it right and know when I haven’t. It means I’ve seen a lot of silly behavior from coaches, umpires and (mainly) parents, though sometimes it was coming from me.

This year, as I do most years, I met with the parents of my new team. We had some hamburgers and hot dogs and talked, you know, while we’re all new to the team and everyone still likes each other.

This is a team of 13-year-olds in the Tallahassee Babe Ruth organization. That means the kids are moving up to a regulation big-league-size field for the first time and that all of the players – and their parents – are serious about baseball.

I’ve developed some advice for my teams' parents that I adapt to the level of play. A couple people suggested I share it, so here you go ...

To read the guidelines see the full blog on this link.

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