Chapter 1 - Leadership

This is a book for managers, coaches, players, and parents. While it is written primarily for the beginner in baseball—the Little Leaguer—the reader will discover that the same fundamentals work in all branches of baseball. The right way to execute a play and the right attitude get the same results in the major leagues as in the Little Leagues, and the wrong way is just as inimical to good results.

The surprising thing is that so many major leaguers make mistakes— correctible mistakes—which proves that we shouldn't expect too much of boys and that we should always remember that it is human to err. At the same time, we should never lose sight of the opportunity to teach fundamentals of play and of constructive living.

It was Herbert Hoover who observed that team sports are the greatest training in morals, second only to religious faith, and one of the greatest stimulants of constructive joy in the world. We can provide this joy and be a part of it if we realize the potentialities of a program like Little League and make the most of them.

Most of us are not great athletes and few of us have been professional players and coaches, but years of observation will convince the candid reader of the truth of Branch Rickey's conviction that any man with normal intelligence and a desire to learn can become a capable baseball coach or manager. Willingness to learn and to lead are key factors in the success of the program.

One coach described this reaction: "You'd be amazed at the trust these youngsters put in you. They think you're the greatest fellow on earth. You get a funny feeling when you realize they are following you around, trying to be like you and act like you."

The relationship between players of all ages and managers or coaches is far better than the usual relationship between learner and instructor. Elton

True blood, the noted author and philosopher, has observed that the coach and player are on the same side: "The coach does not seem to the student to be one who is primarily his judge, but rather one who, at every possible point, is seeking to assist him to do better. They are partners in a single thrilling effort. If the coach is a man of character, his influence on the lives of the players is both beneficent and strong."

Many managers and coaches know from experience that Little Leaguers are very impressionable. As coaches, they can be a strong force for good if they take advantage of their opportunities for constructive leadership. For example, a beginner can learn something new about the game every day. It may be such a simple thing as how to grip the bat or where to stand in the batter's box, and you may have to repeat the lesson again and again. However, the youngster will leave the field with real satisfaction if you can remind him that he learned something new today and thus is a better player than he was yesterday.

KNOW YOUR PLAYERS. If you get to know your boys, their physical limitations and capabilities, their environment and their personalities, you will able to help them grow and develop. Thus you may find a boy whose parents take little interest in him and who has limited ability. A little praise will give a big boost to his morale. Remember that boys have a short interest span. Vary your instruction program and keep it fun.

FIG. 1. Managers and players should build a relationship of friendship, understanding, and respect.

To serve youngsters well, you must know their needs, interests, and ability, and you must know your own limitations, too.

ATTITUDES ARE IMPORTANT. Perhaps the greatest opportunity comes to the adult leader in developing attitudes. Since his own attitude will be reflected by a majority of his players, it is important that he understand and instruct that the relationships with umpires, managers, coaches, and other players should be a friendly one.

Keep in mind that players should participate for the enjoyment and benefit they derive. Too often the tendency is to shower attention and awards on the talented lad and to ignore the benchwarmer. Achievement is its own reward, and a boy who hits a home run gets sufficient satisfaction from performing that feat. He doesn't need additional honors.

Too often on the playing field participants develop an escapist complex by blaming defeat on the officials, team-mates, or "dirty work at the crossroads." Youngsters should learn that the best teams don't win all the time-even when they put forth their best efforts—and that the worst teams don't lose all the time. There are days when the pennant-winning team gets the bad bounces, all the close plays go against it, and "bloop" hits land between the fielders. The team that continues to hustle from day to day, profits by its mistakes and learns not to repeat them, and learns to accept the fact that the "breaks" will even up over a season is the team with the right mental approach to the game. It has come to recognize that a majority of games can be decided by good or bad play on the field and by the type of leadership provided, and it conducts itself accordingly.

Players must learn that no one is successful in every effort—that they don't have any reason to regret a loss if they have performed to the best of their ability without violating the rules of the game or good sportsmanship—and that results may be different the next time if they continue to put forth their best efforts.

It is important for players to recognize the role of the umpire. You teach respect for law and order when you teach your players to respect the umpire and his role in the game. The only time the decision of an umpire should be questioned is when a manager or coach believes that the umpire has made a mistake in interpreting a rule or has not been able to see a play (such as a half-swing, or a trapped or juggled ball). Then the umpire should be asked in a courteous manner to check his rule book or to consult with another umpire who might have had a better view of the play.

Again, point out to your players that any close play may bring divided opinions between the contestants as to the outcome. This is entirely natural in a competitive situation, and because the umpire is nonpartisan, he is in a position to judge the play from a neutral viewpoint.

We must recognize, however, that the best and most experienced umpires make mistakes, just as players make errors and managers and coaches use poor judgment on occasion. Players must learn to accept the fact that no one is perfect, but that over a season of play as many decisions on questionable plays will be called in their favor as against them.

WE CAN LEARN FROM JAPAN. Before each National High School Baseball Tournament in Japan, all the players salute the tournament director and pledge in unison to play to the best of their ability, to be thankful for the opportunity to participate, to respect the officials and their opponents, and to play in such a way that they will strive to bring honor to their family, school, and country by playing according to the rules and the spirit of fair play. The teams bow to the "honorable" umpires and the umpires bow to the "honorable" players before and after every game to show that they appreciate the part each plays in making the game possible.

Cooperation is so important in life today that one of the great values of baseball comes from playing with other members of the team. Players soon understand that the success of a double play depends on the player who fields and throws the ball, the pivot man who takes the relay at second base and sends the ball on its way, and the player who stretches to catch it at first base.

In stressing the democratic values of team games Lynn McCraw of the University of Texas, writing in Scholastic Coach, points to cooperation, the opportunity for free competition, the voluntary submission to duly elected authority, and obedience to the law of the people:

This obedience is not induced by fear of reprisal, but stems from a willingness to abide by what has been accepted as right and good for the common welfare. This is likewise a willingness to accept the decision of an impartial judge in settling all matters of dispute. The value of games in developing a respect for law and authority is truly immeasurable. Both coaches and players recognize that the rules are for the common good and represent the thinking of their representatives.

With good leadership, a youngster learns much more than the game itself. In Little League play he comes to realize the necessity for adequate preparation if one is to excel in any worthwhile activity. The boy is exposed to the humbling realization that everyone is endowed with varying degrees of natural talent, but that success usually comes to those who work the hardest. While developing a competitive spirit—the "will to win"—he simultaneously develops the perseverance to keep trying no matter what the score may be because the game isn't over until the final out.

FIG. 2. Boys learn more than the fundamentals of play under good leadership.

HUSTLE IS A NECESSITY. One of the biggest favors a field leader can do for his players is to teach them to hustle. Players, officials, and spectators enjoy a game in which everyone hustles, with players running on and off the field, batters ready to take their turn at: bat, coaches in their coaching boxes as their team comes to bat, an extra catcher available to warm up the pitcher if necessary, a substitute player designated to retrieve bats promptly, and even the batter instructed to pick up the mask and hand it to the catcher on the other team if this will help to speed up play.

No one enjoys seeing a game in which the players walk on their heels and seem to be simply going through the motions. Not only does a lack of hustle destroy interest in the game, but it can drag out a game so long that a contest which begins when visibility is good cannot continue without endangering the participants, or can result in the umpire halting the game because of darkness.

It can also cause a player to reach his saturation point of interest. A few years ago sloppy play, poor organization and leadership, lack of control by pitchers, and hot, humid weather made a twilight game seem interminable. The catcher for one team was an alert, aggressive lad who tried to keep his team alive. All of a sudden in the sixth inning he turned around and walked to the backstop to retrieve a wild pitch while the runner who represented the winning run sped from first to third base for the opposing team. This kind of play could cause an inexperienced manager to blow a fuse, but this boy was doing what came naturally.

Little Leaguers have not gained so much control of mind over body that they will drive themselves to exhaustion. No group of youngsters of Little League age would row themselves into a hospital as the Yale University crew did to win the Olympic crew races in Australia. When Little Leaguers grow tired, you may expect them to cease to put forth their best efforts. Child experts know that this is a normal reaction. It will rarely happen, however, if games are properly organized and if there is motivation to put sufficient hustle into the play to keep it interesting.
RAZZING IS OUT. Remember that it is against the rules and the spirit of Little League for you or your players to razz or heckle your opponents. Equally important, the boys should not be permitted to criticize other players on their own team, but should be taught to encourage them. And keep in mind that your players will respect you if you correct their mistakes in a quiet, friendly way rather than ranting and raving at them. Little Leaguers are receptive to ideas and instructions—and building confidence through friendly persuasion will work wonders with most boys.

A veteran manager has discovered that "at least one boy in every group seems to develop leadership when given the opportunity to do so." Such a boy can help immeasurably in setting a good pattern for others to follow. As in adult life, you will find good leaders and good followers on the baseball field if you look for them.

In teaching, there is a great temptation to try to teach beginners a dozen things at once. Concentrate on one thing at a time until a boy has mastered it. Otherwise you will only succeed in confusing your players. Keep in mind that all boys don't learn at the same speed or have the same capacity to retain learning. Yet patience can pay big dividends with some slow learners.

If you have a boy who can't concentrate, try to find a place for him on the team where he will get plenty of action so that he won't have time to "daydream." Remind him frequently of the game situation and what he should be prepared to do on the next play.

You can influence boys to develop good health habits—enough sleep, a balanced diet, when to exercise in relation to the game and practice schedule. (For instance, a boy shouldn't spend the morning pitching batting practice on a sandlot or the afternoon swimming before pitching a twilight game in Little League.) If a boy has been ill, check with his parents or doctor to determine whether he is ready to play again and under what conditions.

Once in a while a manager may be faced with a disciplinary problem. A player may deliberately try to "cheat on the rules" or run over a smaller defensive player while running the bases in an effort to knock the ball out of his opponent's hands. There is no place for this type of thing in Little League, and you must take a firm stand against such tactics even to the point of benching a boy if he repeats such actions. Every effort should be made to correct players without holding them up to ridicule before1 their teammates.

DEVELOP ALL PLAYERS. You will build morale by developing all of your players—not just the nine or ten best boys. The day may come when several of your players are absent, and you will be in trouble if you haven't given your reserve players "game experience.:" Every manager can find a way to play all of his players at regular intervals, and he will have a stronger and happier team at the end of the season and in forthcoming seasons if he gives all of the boys a chance to play and develop.

To serve your team, you should know that you must give freely of your time and energy and that you may be subject to criticism from parents and other second guessers, but that your associations with these youngsters will keep you young in mind and spirit. The dedicated leader continually explores avenues of doing the job better and grows through the process of self-education. He seeks the advice of professional teachers and coaches, child psychologists, pediatricians, and similar experts, and he makes an effort to read the available publications which might give him new insights in his efforts.

For instance a study of Clarence G. Moser's excellent book Understanding Boys will provide insight about how boys are developing and about their need for training in physical skills, for building friendships and membership in a group, for opportunity and stimulation to improve and display motor abilities, for recognition of individual shortcomings and adjustments to them, and for understanding and sympathy from adults.

The dividends for making these extra efforts to prepare for leadership come to the manager through the privilege of building better boys through baseball.

Why Fundamentals?

Why is it important for a boy to learn the fundamentals of the game of baseball? In the words of Arthur A. Esslinger, a prominent leader in physical education, "The benefits which boys can derive from playing baseball depend largely upon the skill and ability they develop in the sport. But first, they must be taught the correct fundamentals and must master these basic skills." Thus they play the game better and gain the sense of achievement that comes from improving their abilities.

It is possible to perfect baseball skills and at the same time to avoid injury. In fact the possession of skills helps to prevent accidents. Very seldom do we hear of a player who executes a play properly being injured. The man who knows how to throw, and uses this knowledge in throwing, doesn't pull a muscle in his arm, and the fellow who knows how to slide and uses this knowledge doesn't sprain an ankle or strain an elbow.

It is important that every player concentrate on the basic fundamentals. For instance, one can be so absorbed in swinging a bat hard in an effort to hit the ball out of the park that he never learns how to get maximum power through such things as balance, the short stride and hip pivot, the level shoulders and hips, and the level swing with complete follow-through.

In the following pages fundamentals of play are set forth to aid you in helping the boy who is beginning his career on the diamond. These are first fundamentals, and when they are mastered, the player is ready for refinements of play he sometimes sees displayed in major league games.

Every effort has been made to apply scientific principles to the techniques of play to be sure that the best methods, practices, and procedures are recommended. John Bunn, the brilliant coach and analyst, stated in his book Scientific Principles of Coaching:

I have been disturbed by the tendency in others to accept blindly the methods employed by the star athlete and to assume that these methods are correct merely because the man is a top performer. By the same token, the methods taught by the successful coach are often considered to be the last word because that particular coach has a winning team. Few seem to question or inquire into the methods, or to consider the possibility that the star athlete or the championship team may be successful in spite of the methods employed.

Remember that some major leaguers are such remarkable athletes that they can use methods not recommended by the finest coaches and still be successful, but that players who get the best results try to improve their play, listen to their coaches, and study the game. Always keep in mind that if a game is worth playing it is worth playing to the best of the boy's ability.

And finally, don't forget Dr. Esslinger's advice: "A sense of humor is a wonderful asset to any manager. It is a safeguard against undue tensions and severities of unwise discipline. An overly serious atmosphere takes the fun and happiness out of Little League. After all, it is a game as far as the boys are concerned." It isn't Little League if it isn't fun.

AN AMERICAN TRADITION. Baseball for boys, properly conducted, becomes an enjoyable experience for all concerned, an asset and an inspiration to the community in which it is played.

In this push-button age when leisure can become a curse as well as a blessing and when physical fitness as well as mental fitness are major concerns, President Dwight D. Eisenhower has said: "Parents and adults working in Little League can improve and extend leadership in this important field. To maintain this fine American tradition with its contribution to the nation's health and ideals of fair play, we must continue to encourage our boys to take an active part in the game." This book is dedicated to that goal.

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