I typically don’t yell at my kid’s games, but one time I had the honor of being the head coach and pitching to the 7 and 8-year-old kids but something got under my epidermis. Upon the start of the game, the opposing coach and I agreed that we would only let the kids take one base on missed plays. That was all well and good as we abide by the rules and my boys started racking up the runs on the scoreboard.

The other team kept running their kids and sneaking in a run here and there. I finally had enough when they kept doing it until they got within 2 runs on their bottom of the 6th at bat. We had 2 outs and they just ran no matter what. Did kids overthrow the ball? Take as many bases as you can. Are kids holding the ball? Keep running. Win at all costs!

It’s a frustrating part of the game for sure. Kids are learning the game, and what is the takeaway? Run and capitalize on others’ mistakes. This is all fine and dandy when the kids are 11-12 and they should be catching the ball. But kids who are more interested in playing in the dirt than knowing how to execute a force-out run down have to know you’re not teaching them the fundamentals by just running bases while kids are looking in the other direction.

As a kid I don’t remember it being this way, I had plenty of fun playing baseball and I hope my kids do the same. Jerk Parents/Coaches will always exit to ruin the game.