Things Coach David Says About 8,000 Times Per Practice

"Down on the ball! Down on the ball!"

My biggest fault as a fielder was not putting my glove all the way down to snag grounders. (I've always had iffy depth perception.) And as a kid, my Dad would always yell "Put. Your. Glove. DOWN!!!!"

Fast-forward to post-college, when I played with a recreational-level team. We played on Fridays after work, and my Dad would come and watch us (this was back when he was still drinking, and he loved to sit in the bleachers with a cold beer[s] and watch the game).

I was playing third base and missed a grounder because of my old bad habit, and immediately, as if 15 years hadn't passed, I heard from the bleachers: "Put. Your. Glove. DOWN!!!"

Ben's in Mass. However, Owen's not too far away from benefiting from the practice.

::reroutes flight plans::

Maybe, I just wanted to Teppy to field them.

Maybe, I just wanted to Teppy to field them.

I'm happy that, when we played catch in SF last year, it would have been impossible to throw grounders in Deb's driveway. Otherwise, you would have found out how weak I am on them.

I'm happy that, when we played catch in SF last year, it would have been impossible to throw grounders in Deb's driveway. Otherwise, you would have found out how weak I am on them.

I created a new drill to get Emmett to work on his fielding fundamentals. It's sort of like pepper for fielding. I sit down and bounce short-hops right at your toes (with a padded practice ball) until you get into a strong, spread position and are keyed to the ball and the bounce.

{{{Deena}}} A dad's heart attack is not necessarily the end. My dad survived his and went on to defeat colon cancer not once but twice. Now he's blissfully married and glowing like a schoolboy with his first girlfriend. FIL survived his heart attack and still wants to go to the bookstore all the time.

Also {{{shrift}}}. I miss my cousin, too.

I was playing third base and missed a grounder because of my old bad habit, and immediately, as if 15 years hadn't passed, I heard from the bleachers: "Put. Your. Glove. DOWN!!!"

I think I would have turned a couple shades of red if my dad did this.

I was playing third base and missed a grounder because of my old bad habit, and immediately, as if 15 years hadn't passed, I heard from the bleachers: "Put. Your. Glove. DOWN!!!"

I think I would have turned a couple shades of red if my dad did this.

Heh. It was perfectly normal to me. I almost didn't notice.

That ties right into the whole "selective hearing" debate my parents used to have with me.

until you get into a strong, spread position and are keyed to the ball and the bounce.

Wait, are we talking about BASEBALL here?

That ties right into the whole "selective hearing" debate my parents used to have with me.

One of the very interesting things about coaching is that kids who don't belong to you will listen to you, whereas your own kids tune you out.

Emmett does listen to me, but not in the same way. I have to drill him forever while he rolls his eyes and snarks. Eventually though he'll feed it back to me and I know it got through. If Tim is coaching him though, he'll just make an immediate adjustment. Same with Tim's daughter, Emma. When I told her to lengthen her stride while pitching, boom, she just did it.