Coaches need to keep cool

Are youth sports fun anymore?

Growing up, I played everything: I competed in Little League and town league basketball, played football in the back yard, hockey on a nearby pond and I even gave soccer a try for a year. I loved playing sports when I was kid, and to this day, I remember a few coaches along the way I really admired. I was on a Little League team that in three seasons went 6-54. Yes, we won six games in three years, but you’d never know it, because the coaches always treated us with dignity at the end of each game. And because it was fun.

These days, youth sports have gotten so big, so competitive, that it seems no longer fun. You read stories all the time about parents attacking coaches, coaches attacking referees, fans attacking fans and players attacking each other — in the handshake line, no less. It’s pathetic and borderline nauseating.

And now, it’s happened here. According to a story in today’s Newport Daily News, a Portsmouth Babe Ruth Baseball coach was taken off the field in handcuffs after he was spouting off profanities in front of players and fans and threatening the opposing coach.

I wasn’t at the game, and I don’t know what happened, but said coach was given more than enough rope to hang himself, according to the story. Despite warnings to cease his tirade, he continued and ultimately was shoved in the back of a cruiser in front of his players. Not exactly setting a great example.

The story said the coach will no longer be associated with Portsmouth Babe Ruth, and kudos to the league for taking such action. Again, I’m not sure what could have caused this major meltdown, but was it worth it?

Next time, perhaps coaches in similar situations should take a deep breath and think about what’s really important. They're setting the examples, and at all costs, under any circumstances, they need to keep their cool.