Food for Thought
Mike Matheny’s Letter To The Parents of
Young Athletes
Mike Matheny is the manager of the incredibly successful St. Louis Cardinals.
Highly respected inside the game of baseball, Mike chose to coach his kids
before he was the manager of the Cardinals. Before the season started, Matheny
wrote the following letter to the parents of the other players and it couldn’t
be any more spot-on.
Letter from Mike Matheny…..
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.
3. To 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.
With that being said, I need to let you
know where I stand. I have no hidden agenda. I have no ulterior motive other
than what I said about my goals. I also need all of you to know that my
priorities in life will most likely be a part of how I coach, and the
expectations I have for the boys. My Christian faith is the guide for my life
and I have never been one for forcing my faith down someone’s throat, but I also
believe it to be cowardly, and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe. You
as parents need to know for yourselves and for your boys, that when the
opportunity presents itself, I will be honest with what I believe. That may make
some people uncomfortable, but I did that as a player, and I hope to continue it
in any endeavor that I get into. I am just trying to get as many potential
issues out in the open from the beginning. I believe that the biggest role of
the parent is to be a silent source of encouragement. I think if you ask most
boys what they would want their parents to do during the game; they would say
“NOTHING”. 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.
Let the record stand right now that we
will not have good umpiring. This is a fact, and the sooner we all understand
that, the better off we will be. We will have balls that bounce in the dirt that
will be called strikes, and we will have balls over our heads that will be
called strikes. Likewise, the opposite will happen with the strike zone while we
are pitching. The boys will not be allowed at any time to show any emotion
against the umpire. They will not shake their head, or pout, or say anything to
the umpire. This is my job, and I will do it well. I once got paid to handle
those guys, and I will let them know when they need to hear something. I am
really doing all of you parents a favor that you probably don’t realize at this
point. I have taken out any work at all for you except to get them there on
time, and enjoy. The thing that these boys need to hear is that you enjoyed
watching them and you hope that they had fun. I know that it is going to be very
hard not to coach from the stands and yell encouraging things to your son, but I
am confident that this works in a negative way for their development and their
enjoyment. Trust me on this. I am not saying that you cannot clap for your kids
when they do well. I am saying that if you hand your child over to me to coach
them, then let me do that job.
A large part of how your child improves is
your responsibility. The difference for kids at this level is the amount of
repetition that they get. This goes with pitching, hitting and fielding. As a
parent, you can help out tremendously by playing catch, throwing batting
practice, hitting ground balls, or finding an instructor who will do this in
your place. The more of this your kids can get, the better. This is the one
constant that I have found with players that reached the major leagues….someone
spent time with them away from the field.
I am completely fine with your son getting
lessons from whomever you see fit. The only problem I will have is if your
instructor is telling your son not to follow the plan of the team. I will not
teach a great deal of mechanics at the beginning, but I will teach mental
approach, and expect the boys to comply. If I see something that your son is
doing mechanically that is drastically wrong, I will talk with the instructor
and clear things up. The same will hold true with pitching coaches. We will have
a pitching philosophy and will teach the pitchers and catchers how to call a
game, and why we choose the pitches we choose. There is no guessing. We will
have a reason for the pitches that we throw. A pitching coach will be helpful
for the boys to get their arms in shape and be ready to throw when spring
arrives. Every boy on this team will be worked as a pitcher. We will not over
use these young arms and will keep close watch on the number of innings that the
boys are throwing.
I will be throwing so much info at these
boys that they are going to suffer from overload for a while, but eventually
they are going to get it. I am a stickler about the thought process of the game.
I will be talking non-stop about situational hitting, situational pitching, and
defensive preparation. The question that they are going to hear the most is
“What were you thinking?” What were you thinking when you threw that pitch? What
were you thinking during that at bat? What were you thinking before the pitch
was thrown, were you anticipating anything? 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.
The best situation for all of us is for
you to plan on handing these kids over to me and the assistant coaches when you
drop them off, and plan on them being mine for the 2 or so hours that we have
scheduled for a game, or the time that we have scheduled for the practice. I
would like for these boys to have some responsibility for having their own
water, not needing you to keep running to the concession stand, or having
parents behind the dugout asking their son if they are thirsty, or hungry, or
too hot, and I would appreciate if you would share this information with other
invited guests…like grandparents. If there is an injury, obviously we will get
you to help, but besides that, let’s pretend that they are at work for a short
amount of time and that you have been granted the pleasure of watching. I will
have them at games early so we can get stretched and loosened up, and I will
have a meeting with just the boys after the game. After the meeting, they are
all yours again. As I am writing this, I sound like the little league Nazi, but
I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved.
I truly believe that the family is the
most important institution in the lives of these guys. With that being said, l
think that the family events are much more important than the sports events. I
just ask that you are considerate of the rest of the team and let the team
manager, and myself know when you will miss, and to let us know as soon as
possible. I know that there will be times when I am going to miss either for
family reasons, for other commitments. If your son misses a game or a practice,
it is not the end of the world, but there may be some sort of repercussion, just
out of respect for the kids that put the effort into making it. The kind of
repercussions could possibly be running, altered playing time, or position in
the batting order.
Speaking of batting order, I would like to
address that right from the top as well seeing that next to playing time this is
the second most complained about issue, or actually tied for second with
position on the defensive field. Once again, I need you to know that I am trying
to develop each boy individually, and I will give them a chance to learn and
play any position that they are interested in. I also believe that this team
will be competitive and when we get into situations where we are focusing on
winning; like a tournament for example; we are going to put the boys in the
position that will give the team the best opportunity. I will talk with the boys
individually and have them tell me what their favorite position is and what
other position they would like to learn about. As this season progresses, there
is a chance that your son may be playing a position that they don’t necessarily
like, but I will need your support about their role on the team. I know that
times have changed, but one of the greatest lessons that my father taught me was
that my coach was always right…even when he was wrong. The principle is a great
life lesson about how things really work. I hope that I will have enough
humility to come to your son if I treated him wrong and apologize. Our culture
has lost this respect for authority mostly because the kids hear the parents
constantly complaining about the teachers and coaches of the child.
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. Time will tell. l also believe that there is
enough local talent that we will not have to do a large amount of travel, if
any. This may be disappointing for those of you who only play baseball and look
forward to the out of town experiences, but I also know that this is a relief
for the parents that have traveled throughout the US and Canada for hockey and
soccer looking for better competition. In my experiences, we have traveled all
over the Midwest and have found just as good competition right in our back yard.
If this season goes well, we will entertain the idea of travel in the
future. The boys will be required to
show up ready to play every time they come to the field. Shirts tucked in, hats
on straight, and pants not drooping down to their knees. There is not an excuse
for lack of hustle on a baseball field. From the first step outside the dugout
they will hustle. They will have a fast jog to their position, to the plate, and
back to the bench when they make an out. We will run out every hit harder than
any team we will play, and will learn how to always back up a play to help our
teammates. Every single play, every player will be required to move to a spot.
Players that do not hustle and run out balls will not play.
The boys will catch on to this quickly.
The game of baseball becomes very boring when players are not thinking about the
next play and what they possibly could do to help the team. Players on the bench
will not be messing around. I will constantly be talking with them about
situations and what they would be doing if they were in a specific position, or
if they were the batter. There is as much to learn on the bench as there is on
the field if the boys want to learn. All of this will take some time for the
boys to conform to. They are boys and I am not trying to take away from that,
but I do believe that they can bear down and concentrate hard for just a little
while during the games and practices.
I know this works because this was how I
was taught the game and how our parents acted in the stands. We started our
little league team when I was 10 years old in a little suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
We had a very disciplined coach that expected the same from us. We committed 8
summers to this man and we were rewarded for our efforts. I went to Michigan,
one went to Duke, one to Miami of Florida, two went to North Carolina, one went
to Central Florida, one went to Kent State, and most of the others played
smaller division one or division two baseball. Four of us went on to play
professionally. This was coming from a town where no one had ever been recruited
by any colleges. I am not saying that this is what is going to happen to our
boys, but what I do want you to see is that this system works. I know that right
now you are asking yourself if this is what you want to get yourself into and I
understand that for some of you it may not be the right fit. I also think that
there is a great opportunity for these boys to grow together and learn some
lessons that will go beyond their baseball experience. Let me know as soon as
possible whether or not this is a commitment that you and your son want to
make.
Thanks,
Mike Matheny
Mike Matheny’s Letter To The Parents of
Young Athletes
Mike Matheny is the manager of the incredibly successful St. Louis Cardinals.
Highly respected inside the game of baseball, Mike chose to coach his kids
before he was the manager of the Cardinals. Before the season started, Matheny
wrote the following letter to the parents of the other players and it couldn’t
be any more spot-on.
Letter from Mike Matheny…..
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.
3. To 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.
With that being said, I need to let you
know where I stand. I have no hidden agenda. I have no ulterior motive other
than what I said about my goals. I also need all of you to know that my
priorities in life will most likely be a part of how I coach, and the
expectations I have for the boys. My Christian faith is the guide for my life
and I have never been one for forcing my faith down someone’s throat, but I also
believe it to be cowardly, and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe. You
as parents need to know for yourselves and for your boys, that when the
opportunity presents itself, I will be honest with what I believe. That may make
some people uncomfortable, but I did that as a player, and I hope to continue it
in any endeavor that I get into. I am just trying to get as many potential
issues out in the open from the beginning. I believe that the biggest role of
the parent is to be a silent source of encouragement. I think if you ask most
boys what they would want their parents to do during the game; they would say
“NOTHING”. 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.
Let the record stand right now that we
will not have good umpiring. This is a fact, and the sooner we all understand
that, the better off we will be. We will have balls that bounce in the dirt that
will be called strikes, and we will have balls over our heads that will be
called strikes. Likewise, the opposite will happen with the strike zone while we
are pitching. The boys will not be allowed at any time to show any emotion
against the umpire. They will not shake their head, or pout, or say anything to
the umpire. This is my job, and I will do it well. I once got paid to handle
those guys, and I will let them know when they need to hear something. I am
really doing all of you parents a favor that you probably don’t realize at this
point. I have taken out any work at all for you except to get them there on
time, and enjoy. The thing that these boys need to hear is that you enjoyed
watching them and you hope that they had fun. I know that it is going to be very
hard not to coach from the stands and yell encouraging things to your son, but I
am confident that this works in a negative way for their development and their
enjoyment. Trust me on this. I am not saying that you cannot clap for your kids
when they do well. I am saying that if you hand your child over to me to coach
them, then let me do that job.
A large part of how your child improves is
your responsibility. The difference for kids at this level is the amount of
repetition that they get. This goes with pitching, hitting and fielding. As a
parent, you can help out tremendously by playing catch, throwing batting
practice, hitting ground balls, or finding an instructor who will do this in
your place. The more of this your kids can get, the better. This is the one
constant that I have found with players that reached the major leagues….someone
spent time with them away from the field.
I am completely fine with your son getting
lessons from whomever you see fit. The only problem I will have is if your
instructor is telling your son not to follow the plan of the team. I will not
teach a great deal of mechanics at the beginning, but I will teach mental
approach, and expect the boys to comply. If I see something that your son is
doing mechanically that is drastically wrong, I will talk with the instructor
and clear things up. The same will hold true with pitching coaches. We will have
a pitching philosophy and will teach the pitchers and catchers how to call a
game, and why we choose the pitches we choose. There is no guessing. We will
have a reason for the pitches that we throw. A pitching coach will be helpful
for the boys to get their arms in shape and be ready to throw when spring
arrives. Every boy on this team will be worked as a pitcher. We will not over
use these young arms and will keep close watch on the number of innings that the
boys are throwing.
I will be throwing so much info at these
boys that they are going to suffer from overload for a while, but eventually
they are going to get it. I am a stickler about the thought process of the game.
I will be talking non-stop about situational hitting, situational pitching, and
defensive preparation. The question that they are going to hear the most is
“What were you thinking?” What were you thinking when you threw that pitch? What
were you thinking during that at bat? What were you thinking before the pitch
was thrown, were you anticipating anything? 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.
The best situation for all of us is for
you to plan on handing these kids over to me and the assistant coaches when you
drop them off, and plan on them being mine for the 2 or so hours that we have
scheduled for a game, or the time that we have scheduled for the practice. I
would like for these boys to have some responsibility for having their own
water, not needing you to keep running to the concession stand, or having
parents behind the dugout asking their son if they are thirsty, or hungry, or
too hot, and I would appreciate if you would share this information with other
invited guests…like grandparents. If there is an injury, obviously we will get
you to help, but besides that, let’s pretend that they are at work for a short
amount of time and that you have been granted the pleasure of watching. I will
have them at games early so we can get stretched and loosened up, and I will
have a meeting with just the boys after the game. After the meeting, they are
all yours again. As I am writing this, I sound like the little league Nazi, but
I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved.
I truly believe that the family is the
most important institution in the lives of these guys. With that being said, l
think that the family events are much more important than the sports events. I
just ask that you are considerate of the rest of the team and let the team
manager, and myself know when you will miss, and to let us know as soon as
possible. I know that there will be times when I am going to miss either for
family reasons, for other commitments. If your son misses a game or a practice,
it is not the end of the world, but there may be some sort of repercussion, just
out of respect for the kids that put the effort into making it. The kind of
repercussions could possibly be running, altered playing time, or position in
the batting order.
Speaking of batting order, I would like to
address that right from the top as well seeing that next to playing time this is
the second most complained about issue, or actually tied for second with
position on the defensive field. Once again, I need you to know that I am trying
to develop each boy individually, and I will give them a chance to learn and
play any position that they are interested in. I also believe that this team
will be competitive and when we get into situations where we are focusing on
winning; like a tournament for example; we are going to put the boys in the
position that will give the team the best opportunity. I will talk with the boys
individually and have them tell me what their favorite position is and what
other position they would like to learn about. As this season progresses, there
is a chance that your son may be playing a position that they don’t necessarily
like, but I will need your support about their role on the team. I know that
times have changed, but one of the greatest lessons that my father taught me was
that my coach was always right…even when he was wrong. The principle is a great
life lesson about how things really work. I hope that I will have enough
humility to come to your son if I treated him wrong and apologize. Our culture
has lost this respect for authority mostly because the kids hear the parents
constantly complaining about the teachers and coaches of the child.
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. Time will tell. l also believe that there is
enough local talent that we will not have to do a large amount of travel, if
any. This may be disappointing for those of you who only play baseball and look
forward to the out of town experiences, but I also know that this is a relief
for the parents that have traveled throughout the US and Canada for hockey and
soccer looking for better competition. In my experiences, we have traveled all
over the Midwest and have found just as good competition right in our back yard.
If this season goes well, we will entertain the idea of travel in the
future. The boys will be required to
show up ready to play every time they come to the field. Shirts tucked in, hats
on straight, and pants not drooping down to their knees. There is not an excuse
for lack of hustle on a baseball field. From the first step outside the dugout
they will hustle. They will have a fast jog to their position, to the plate, and
back to the bench when they make an out. We will run out every hit harder than
any team we will play, and will learn how to always back up a play to help our
teammates. Every single play, every player will be required to move to a spot.
Players that do not hustle and run out balls will not play.
The boys will catch on to this quickly.
The game of baseball becomes very boring when players are not thinking about the
next play and what they possibly could do to help the team. Players on the bench
will not be messing around. I will constantly be talking with them about
situations and what they would be doing if they were in a specific position, or
if they were the batter. There is as much to learn on the bench as there is on
the field if the boys want to learn. All of this will take some time for the
boys to conform to. They are boys and I am not trying to take away from that,
but I do believe that they can bear down and concentrate hard for just a little
while during the games and practices.
I know this works because this was how I
was taught the game and how our parents acted in the stands. We started our
little league team when I was 10 years old in a little suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
We had a very disciplined coach that expected the same from us. We committed 8
summers to this man and we were rewarded for our efforts. I went to Michigan,
one went to Duke, one to Miami of Florida, two went to North Carolina, one went
to Central Florida, one went to Kent State, and most of the others played
smaller division one or division two baseball. Four of us went on to play
professionally. This was coming from a town where no one had ever been recruited
by any colleges. I am not saying that this is what is going to happen to our
boys, but what I do want you to see is that this system works. I know that right
now you are asking yourself if this is what you want to get yourself into and I
understand that for some of you it may not be the right fit. I also think that
there is a great opportunity for these boys to grow together and learn some
lessons that will go beyond their baseball experience. Let me know as soon as
possible whether or not this is a commitment that you and your son want to
make.
Thanks,
Mike Matheny