“I like Jesus very much, but he no help with curveball.” –Pedro Ceranno

If you are one who celebrates the season, then you know what it feels like. The date on the calendar tells you it’s over. All the markings that celebrate the season have been removed. The lights outside have been turned off. The particular foods that are synonymous with the season are no longer being eaten. It seems like it will last forever but it has now ended and only when you discover a discarded list or card do you come to terms with its finality. You are tired and odds are you are broke from the overspending that accompanies the daily attempt to fully enjoy it. Your house is a mess from the lack of time to clean it properly because of all the late nights and travel. All the little irritations and annoyances that accompany the season seem forgotten in the warm glow of accomplishment that you feel once it is over. The truth is that you are more than a little sad to see it end. Although you have seen this season come and go numerous times, each year it seems different and unique. It is a time for children, but you know that the adults enjoy it as much as their offspring do. And as the years pass, you realize that a time will come when your kids will outgrow it so you attempt to make each one as special as possible. As soon as this one ends, you start making plans on how the next one is going to be even better.

No. I am not talking about Christmas. I am talking about youth baseball and to those that partake in these high holy days, it is a far more spiritual experience. However, upon review it has far more similarity to that December holiday that I had previously realized. Witness the evidence:

· Christmas is a season involving a costumed man in red, Santa, that many kids both love and fear.

· Baseball is a season involving a costumed man in blue, The Umpire, that kids love when he calls them safe and fear that he is going to call that ball that just bounced across the plate a strike

· Christmas is a season where parents spend $100 for a bike that their kids will leave out in the rain.

· Baseball is a season where parents pay $100 for a leather glove that their kids will leave out in the rain.

· Christmas is a time when people who love each other will scream at each other due to the stress of the season

· Baseball season is a time when people who love each other will scream at each other because of the stress of watching a kid take a strikeout looking with the bases loaded in a tied ball game.

· During Christmas there are people whose sole job is to stop people from stealing, they are called security guards.

· During baseball season there are people whose sole job is to stop people from stealing, they are called catchers.

· During Christmas, adults go to church and quietly say words like “Son of God” and “Mother Mary” in a voice only God can hear.

· During baseball season, adults come to the park and quietly say things like “Son of a <bleep>” and “Mother <bleep>er” in a voice that they hope the kids can’t hear.

I guess the one thing that makes both things so similar is the way that marketing companies and commercials have completely violated the celebration of both. While Christmas has recently become a victim of the attempt by retail to push the season earlier and earlier so that it is now possible to have your inflatable Santa holding a Jack-o-Lantern on Halloween night , baseball has fallen victim to equally nefarious schemes that seem destined to separating the “volunteer” coaches from their money. Consider the following scenario: A parent decides to coach his son’s tee ball team but has never run a baseball practice before, so logic dictates he goes to the interwebs for some advice. He googles “free baseball drills” and the results display at least 50 different listings for “free” practice plans for $19.95. Apparently in the baseball world the word “free” has a different definition than in any other segment of society.

I have been involved in coaching my son’s teams for the past 12 seasons( in Florida there is such a thing as Fall baseball) and have learned a few things in the process, so if you want to coach or just pass yourself off as one at the local bar, here are a few tips:

· If you want the mothers to come to the games, treat the kids with respect.

· If you want fathers to come to the game, make sure the Team Mom is hot.

· It’s only called tee ball because the term “herding cats” was already taken.

· Every kid says that they can pitch, 99% of them are lying.

· Use the following terms in your coaching instructions: Bend your back, follow through, back of the box, split the plate, roll a pair in the middle.

· If you actually know what those terms mean there is no need to read this article.

· “Take one for the team” only applies to other people’s kids.

· If you believe that winning doesn’t matter at all and the kids only care about having fun, baseball may not be the best sport for you. I would recommend unicorn rodeo or perhaps dragon racing.

· Baseball will remind you how much you love kids and detest their parents.

· The players’ health and safety is important. If your star player is bleeding out of less than 75% of his orifices, then leave him in the game. If the cricket chaser in right field hiccups, then you need to give him two weeks off to recover.

· A ball off the fascia is live…every time.

Finally, enjoy the madness. You will never celebrate louder than you do when you see a great group of kids succeed. It’s better than meth without the facial sores and tooth loss. Coaching and working with the kids is the best feeling in the world and I wish ever parent could experience it. Well I gotta go and get ready for next season.

the things I have learned

Tag Archives: Jesus

Jingle Balls

No. I am not talking about Christmas. I am talking about youth baseball and to those that partake in these high holy days, it is a far more spiritual experience. However, upon review it has far more similarity to that December holiday that I had previously realized. Witness the evidence:

· Christmas is a season involving a costumed man in red, Santa, that many kids both love and fear.

· Baseball is a season involving a costumed man in blue, The Umpire, that kids love when he calls them safe and fear that he is going to call that ball that just bounced across the plate a strike

· Christmas is a season where parents spend $100 for a bike that their kids will leave out in the rain.

· Baseball is a season where parents pay $100 for a leather glove that their kids will leave out in the rain.

· Christmas is a time when people who love each other will scream at each other due to the stress of the season

· Baseball season is a time when people who love each other will scream at each other because of the stress of watching a kid take a strikeout looking with the bases loaded in a tied ball game.

· During Christmas there are people whose sole job is to stop people from stealing, they are called security guards.

· During baseball season there are people whose sole job is to stop people from stealing, they are called catchers.

· During Christmas, adults go to church and quietly say words like “Son of God” and “Mother Mary” in a voice only God can hear.

· During baseball season, adults come to the park and quietly say things like “Son of a <bleep>” and “Mother <bleep>er” in a voice that they hope the kids can’t hear.

I have been involved in coaching my son’s teams for the past 12 seasons( in Florida there is such a thing as Fall baseball) and have learned a few things in the process, so if you want to coach or just pass yourself off as one at the local bar, here are a few tips:

· If you want the mothers to come to the games, treat the kids with respect.

· If you want fathers to come to the game, make sure the Team Mom is hot.

· It’s only called tee ball because the term “herding cats” was already taken.

· Every kid says that they can pitch, 99% of them are lying.

· Use the following terms in your coaching instructions: Bend your back, follow through, back of the box, split the plate, roll a pair in the middle.

· If you actually know what those terms mean there is no need to read this article.

· “Take one for the team” only applies to other people’s kids.

· If you believe that winning doesn’t matter at all and the kids only care about having fun, baseball may not be the best sport for you. I would recommend unicorn rodeo or perhaps dragon racing.

· Baseball will remind you how much you love kids and detest their parents.

· The players’ health and safety is important. If your star player is bleeding out of less than 75% of his orifices, then leave him in the game. If the cricket chaser in right field hiccups, then you need to give him two weeks off to recover.

· A ball off the fascia is live…every time.

No. I am not talking about Christmas. I am talking about youth baseball and to those that partake in these high holy days, it is a far more spiritual experience. However, upon review it has far more similarity to that December holiday that I had previously realized. Witness the evidence:

· Christmas is a season involving a costumed man in red, Santa, that many kids both love and fear.

· Baseball is a season involving a costumed man in blue, The Umpire, that kids love when he calls them safe and fear that he is going to call that ball that just bounced across the plate a strike

· Christmas is a season where parents spend $100 for a bike that their kids will leave out in the rain.

· Baseball is a season where parents pay $100 for a leather glove that their kids will leave out in the rain.

· Christmas is a time when people who love each other will scream at each other due to the stress of the season

· Baseball season is a time when people who love each other will scream at each other because of the stress of watching a kid take a strikeout looking with the bases loaded in a tied ball game.

· During Christmas there are people whose sole job is to stop people from stealing, they are called security guards.

· During baseball season there are people whose sole job is to stop people from stealing, they are called catchers.

· During Christmas, adults go to church and quietly say words like “Son of God” and “Mother Mary” in a voice only God can hear.

· During baseball season, adults come to the park and quietly say things like “Son of a <bleep>” and “Mother <bleep>er” in a voice that they hope the kids can’t hear.

I have been involved in coaching my son’s teams for the past 12 seasons( in Florida there is such a thing as Fall baseball) and have learned a few things in the process, so if you want to coach or just pass yourself off as one at the local bar, here are a few tips:

· If you want the mothers to come to the games, treat the kids with respect.

· If you want fathers to come to the game, make sure the Team Mom is hot.

· It’s only called tee ball because the term “herding cats” was already taken.

· Every kid says that they can pitch, 99% of them are lying.

· Use the following terms in your coaching instructions: Bend your back, follow through, back of the box, split the plate, roll a pair in the middle.

· If you actually know what those terms mean there is no need to read this article.

· “Take one for the team” only applies to other people’s kids.

· If you believe that winning doesn’t matter at all and the kids only care about having fun, baseball may not be the best sport for you. I would recommend unicorn rodeo or perhaps dragon racing.

· Baseball will remind you how much you love kids and detest their parents.

· The players’ health and safety is important. If your star player is bleeding out of less than 75% of his orifices, then leave him in the game. If the cricket chaser in right field hiccups, then you need to give him two weeks off to recover.

· A ball off the fascia is live…every time.

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