COACHES

I was at my grandson's baseball game last night. He's a first grader and to be honest, the whole team did amazingly better than the last time I watched them ten days ago - this time some of them actually knew which way up to hold the bat!

Their coach wasn't around for that initial excursion, but I got to see him in action yesterday and I was tremendously impressed with him.

Here's what I mean - this tiny kids steps up to the plate, all head and helmet, swings wildly at three pitches and to his utter disbelief is called out on strikes. His father was offering him advice from the sidelines and telling him what he had done wrong, but from somewhere south of third base, the coach roared - Good job! Three great swings!

He was right, they were three great swings. The timing wasn't anywhere near where it should have been and the bat was light years away from connecting with the ball, but he swung with all he had in his less than 50lb frame and gave it the best he knew how.

The kid was not embarassed, humiliated or discouraged and next time he was on deck, he was ready to go. This guy will definitely make some of his squad into players and he'll build some character into all of them.

I learned a lot shivering on the sidelines and was reminded how important it is to pick people up, guide them, be patient with them and encourage them towards whatever success means for them individually.

Critics are a dime a dozen. Real coaches are a rare breed.