"Daddy Ball"

"Only volunteer to coach if you're genuinely interested in coaching!"

Every dad wants to see his son do well on the athletic fields or courts. We all have dreamed of the day that our kid would be the stand out in the local area. To see our little guy grow up to be the stud that's on TV as well as in the newspapers for all of the right reasons. That would be a dream come true. To someday have the college recruiters calling to get your son to play at the Division 1 level would be awesome. Wow, wouldn't it be great to see him get drafted to play in the NFL, NBA or MLB? Well... the reality is, that probably won't happen. I was taught a long time ago, that you don't choose the sport, the sport chooses you.


So don't be "That dude"! The dad that's in the way at the little league fields trying to make his kid a star before you can even see if the kid has potential or not. When my son was in little league or should I say "Daddy Ball", it was the worse experience ever. We called it "Daddy Ball" because so many fathers that never even played sports as kids or those that were probably terrible always volunteered to coach. These were the guys that thought that their kid was a stud when in reality they were horrible.

How many times have you seen this picture? The dad that only coaches because he wants his kid to be the quarterback, pitcher or the point guard. Otherwise, his kid wouldn't play. It's the worse thing in the world because many times the kid doesn't even want to play. The "old man" is forcing the child to come out everyday and it's clear that the kid isn't even interested.

Don't be the guy that all of the other parents talk about in the league. Here's what's being said about you, "Your kid sucks and you seem to be the only one that can't see that". Let me tell you something, "If you have to coach your kids team in order for him to start, he's not very good". As a matter of fact, he's horrible and you should find something else for him to play. Here's why? Everybody starts in little league bruh! If he's kid is coming off of the bench at 10 it's not his sport, so find something else for him to play. Why is it that some dads can't see that their kid may not be very good? I mean, the kid that can't catch a cold, hit water if fell out of a boat, or run into the broad side of a barn he should or she shouldn't be out there. Everybody can see it but "That Dude".

If your child needs you in order to see the field he doesn't have a future in that sport. Now if your coaching because you love the game and feel like you can do a better job than the other dads then be all means coach. However, if you're only coaching because you want your kid to be the star, you're "That Dude" and you stink!

It's all about the team and the kids development not about your child being the star. Now only you can answer that and I want you to be honest with yourself. Don't say it's about the team and you know that you just want to tell your friends at work that your son scored over the weekend. "That Dude" should be punished by having to wear a scarlet letter "TD" on his chest so people can throw rocks at him, at will.

Remember, we all want to see our children succeed. However, don't get in the way because you're trying to re-live your childhood. You can't go back and score anymore touchdowns, hit anymore home runs and score the game winning shot. It's over for you but it's your child's opportunity to become his own man. Let him become one so that he doesn't eventually become "That Dude" too.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves

Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport