A Letter From Mike Matheny
Former UM catcher and current Cardinals manager Mike Matheny spent the last couple years coaching his kid's youth baseball team. Before he agreed to do it, though, he sent a letter to the parents of the team. It's pretty interesting to see what he's like as a person, and it's easy to see how many think he'll make a successful MLB manager.
It's long, but you get the idea pretty early on.
http://www.mac-n-seitz.com/teams-2/mike-matheny-letter.html?fwcc=1&fwcl=1&fwl&fb_source=message
April 13th, 2012 at 10:21 AM ^
I Have coached youth for many years, and writing a letter like this and giving it to the parents at the begining of the season is a must. I don't quite go as elaborate as this letter, but the points are the same. I as a coach have expectations for the players as well as the parents, if you are in disagreement with me, then I will try and help you and your child find another team.
I highly reccomend anyone that is thinking about coaching a youth sport to do this at the begining of the season. It nips everything in the bud and keeps everyone on the same page, which is for the kids.
As the parent of a kid who has played on school & rec ed soccer and baseball teams I think the letter is excellent and necessary. I might have thought it was over-the-top before I had been around other parents at the games, but not anymore.
Most parents are marvelous, but it only takes one or two bad apples to make it hard for everyone. They can make the coach miserable, impair kids' enjoyment and development, piss off the refs, and lead opponents to unfairly brand your entire team as unsportsmanlike.