My dad played pro baseball for 17 years and [thank goodness] gave my brothers and me a healthy perspective about sports. I've seen far too many over-zealous coaches screaming at their young players, berating them for not doing well. Drives me nuts. They shouldn't be allowed to demean kiddos like that. But then again, some parents are about as bad. One time my dad and I watched a father hitting groundballs to his son. The guy was hitting them at warp 7 and expecting this little kid to field them like an adult. When he didn't "do well," the dad would start cussing his kid out. My dad wanted to go hit THAT guy some groundballs, to see how well HE'D do (ha). Anyway, didn't mean to ramble. It's just that for me, winning has always taken a backseat to the fun. I realize that at some point, there is competition. And as long as it's healthy, I have no problem with it. By the way, Val, your blog was a godsend. I incorporated some of those drills and we had a stellar practice. I felt confident instead of a wave of inadequacy. Sure glad there are folks like you willing to share. If I had a weekly plan-of-attack using dirlls like that, I'd sleep well. Guess I oughta subscribe to grassroots, eh? Thanks so much for making yourself available.
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