StL Cards Manager Mike Matheny to Youth Team Parents – It’s About The Boys!
We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players and parents in every game we play.
I don’t believe a week or two goes by where I don’t hear a parent or grandparent mention something about (other) parents yelling during a youth sports game. If any of you have been to grade school games, especially for a “select team” competition, you know what I am talking about. Someone recently sent me this letter St. Louis Cardinals new manager (and former catcher) Mike Matheny wrote to the parents of his son’s baseball team he was coaching. It is impressively lengthy and detailed, but also very important in today’s parenting/youth sports climate.
I have included the introduction along with what I found to be high lights from the letter (bulleted below) … there is no more important job in this world than being a parent … I hope a few of them take a minute to check this letter out:
Coach Matheny to Baseball Team Parents:
I always said that the only team that I would coach would be a team of orphans, and now here we are. The reason for me saying this is that I have found the biggest problem with youth sports has been the parents. I think that it is best to nip this in the bud right off the bat. I think the concept that I am asking all of you to grab is that this experience is ALL about the boys. If there is anything about it that includes you, we need to make a change of plans. My main goals are as follows:
- to teach these young men how to play the game of baseball the right way,
- to be a positive impact on them as young men, and
- do all of this with class.
We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents in every game we play. The boys are going to play with a respect for their teammates, opposition, and the umpires no matter what.Read More »StL Cards Manager Mike Matheny to Youth Team Parents – It’s About The Boys!
