Positive Coaching

Question
How do you feel about positive coaching? Everybody is supposed to take a PC class in our LL but it seems like nobody paid it much attention.  Last week at one of my kid's games the manager and coach, both seemingly great guys, went a little nutty when the team squandered an 10 run lead in the final inning. It seems to me that yelling "you got to catch that ball" to the first baseman and center fielder after missed plays doesn't help, nor does it help when, or after these errors, the manager yells to the pitcher that he better strike everybody out.  And telling a crying player that they're an embarrassment to the team and they're going to get sent back to tball doesn't help much.  What are those week gloves doing at 1st & CF anyway, and how does berating them for missed plays help them get out of the inning or play better later on?  As for the crying player - well, he's a great player but he's eight and last I checked lots of eight-year-olds cry when things go sour.  This team is having a great season, but after this game, I feel like these guys are coaching the team to satisfy their own urge to win, not to help the kids, and I also feel like t-ball and peanuts (not keeping score) is a whole lot more fun.

Answer
John,

You are absolutely correct sir.

The problem is when you get dads coaching teams and those dads know a little bit about baseball and put winning ahead of player development.  At the age of 8, baseball should be about teaching and player development.  As far as yelling at players, I have been a vocal coach, but I always tried to do it to get a point across or to teach something.  Yelling at a kid that he has to catch the ball is not very smart.  I think the kid knows that he should catch the ball.  The problem is:  8 year olds make errors.... a lot.    Yelling at a crying kid is no good.  

It sounds like these coaches have lost all track of the purpose of them being there...teaching baseball.  I would say that the coaches should be yelled at if their players are making mistakes because mistakes come from bad coaching.  

My question is this:  What are these coaches being paid and how long is their contract?

and

How many long term deals have the 8 year old players signed?

Please show this to your coaches and maybe they will wake up and remember why they are there.  There are no major league scouts at their games and noone is going to offer them a real coaching job.  Please remember, the coaches are supposed to be there for the kids, to teach them baseball and to teach them some lessons about life.  Winning, losing and how to play the right way.  Not screaming and throwing fits when things don't go right.  Grace should be shown under pressure, grace when winning, grace when losing.  No one likes a sore winner or sore loser.

Good luck and try to make the best out of it.

Coach Boss