By
Daniel Coyle
A
while back, I wrote
about
an absolutely tremendous letter which a Little League baseball coach
and former major leaguer named Mike Matheny sent to the parents of
his players. Since Matheny is now coaching the St. Louis Cardinals in
the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, I thought I’d observe
the occasion by reposting a few key passages of what’s become known
as the Matheny Manifesto. (For more, I recommend you check out the
whole thing here.)
Dear
[Parent],
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:
(1)
to teach these young men how to play the game of baseball the right
way,
(2)
to be a positive impact on them as young men, and
(3)
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.
Once
again, this is ALL about the boys. I believe that a little league
parent feels that they must participate with loud cheering and “Come
on, let’s go, you can do it”, which just adds more pressure to
the kids. I will be putting plenty of pressure on these boys to play
the game the right way with class, and respect, and they will put too
much pressure on themselves and each other already. You as parents
need to be the silent, constant, source of support.
I
am a firm believer that this game is more mental than physical, and
the mental may be more difficult, but can be taught and can be
learned by a 10 and 11 year old. If it sounds like I am going to be
demanding of these boys, you are exactly right. I am definitely
demanding their attention, and the other thing that I am going to
require is effort. Their attitude, their concentration, and
their effort are the things that they can control. If they give me
these things every time they show up, they will have a great
experience.
I
need all of you to know that we are most likely going to lose
many games this year. The main reason is that we need to find out how
we measure up with the local talent pool. The only way to do this is
to play against some of the best teams. I am convinced that if the
boys put their work in at home, and give me their best effort, that
we will be able to play with just about any team.
Isn’t
that great? And is it any coincidence that Matheny has gone on to
succeed at the highest level?
I
think it goes to underline a simple truth: great coaches are first
and foremost great communicators. They’re not like heroic ship
captains, always knowing where to steer. They’re more like radio
stations, adept at sending the right signal at the right time to
enable people to steer themselves.
PS-
GO CARDS!!
This
entry was posted on www.TheTalentCode.com
on Friday, October 25th, 2013 at 6:54 am.
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