Baseball has always been my passion. I’ve been blessed to play the game and blessed to have gained the knowledge to be able to share it back. Along my career I was lucky enough to have great family, teachers and coaches I could always look up to. I think the concept that I am asking for all of you to grab is that this experience is ALL about the boys. I have found the biggest problem with youth sports has been the parents. I think that it is best to nip this in the bud right off the bat.

My main goals are as follows:

(1) Teach these young men how to play the game of baseball the right way

(2) Be a positive impact on them as young men

(3) Do all of this with class and respect

We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents in every game we play. The boys are going to be taught to play with a respect for their teammates, opposition, and the umpires: no matter what. With that being said, I need to let you know where I stand. I have no hidden agenda. I have no ulterior motive other than what I said about my goals. I also need all of you to know that my priorities in life will most likely be a part of how I coach, and the expectations I have for the boys. My Christian faith is the guide for my life. I have never been one to force my faith down someone’s throat, but I believe it to be cowardly, and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe. You as parents need to know for yourselves and for your boys, that when the opportunity presents itself, I will be honest with what I believe. That may make some people uncomfortable, but I did that as a player, and I hope to continue it in any endeavor that I get into. I am just trying to get as many potential issues out in the open from the beginning.

I believe that the biggest role of the parent is to be a silent source of encouragement. I think if you ask most boys what they would want their parents to do during the game; they would say “NOTHING”. Once again, this is ALL about the boys. I believe that a little league parent feels that they must participate with loud cheering and “Come on, let’s go, you can do it”, which just adds more pressure to the kids. I will be putting plenty of pressure on these boys to play the game the right way with class, and respect, and they will put too much pressure on themselves and each other already. You as parents need to be the silent, constant, source of support.

Let the record stand right now that we will not have good umpiring. This is a fact, the sooner we all understand that, the better off we will be. We will have balls that bounce in the dirt that will be called strikes, and we will have balls over our heads that will be called strikes. Likewise, the opposite will happen with the strike zone while we are pitching. The boys will not be allowed at any time to show any emotion against the umpire. They will not shake their head, or pout, or say anything to the umpire. This is my job, and I will do it well. I will let them know when they need to hear something. All I really ask for you parents is to get them there on time, and enjoy watching them play ball. The thing that these boys need to hear is that you enjoyed watching them and you hope that they had fun. I know that it is going to be very hard not to coach from the stands and yell encouraging things to your son, but I am confident that this works in a negative way for their development and their enjoyment. Trust me on this. I have been on both sides of the fence. I am not saying that you cannot clap for your kids when they do well. I am saying that if you hand your child over to me to coach them, then let me do that job.

A large part of how your child improves is your responsibility. The difference for kids at this level is the amount of repetition that they get. This goes with pitching, hitting and fielding. As a parent, you can help out tremendously by playing catch, throwing batting practice, hitting ground balls, or finding an instructor who will do this in your place. I do teach one on one as well. The more of this your kids can get, the better. This is the one constant that I have found with players that reached the highest of levels; someone spent time with them away from the field. 

I am completely fine with your son getting lessons from whomever you see fit. The only problem I will have is if your instructor is telling your son not to follow the plan of the team. I will not teach a great deal of mechanics at the beginning, but I will teach mental approach, and expect the boys to comply. If I see something that your son is doing mechanically that is drastically wrong, I will talk with the instructor and clear things up. The same will hold true with pitching coaches. We will have a pitching philosophy and will teach the pitchers and catchers how to call a game, and why we choose the pitches we choose. There is no guessing. We will have a reason for the pitches that we throw. A pitching coach will be helpful for the boys to get their arms in shape and be ready to throw when it is their time.

I will be providing a conditioning program to your boys that will cover how to keep their arms safe. We will not over use these young arms and will keep close watch on the number of innings and pitches that the boys are throwing and their pitch count during the games. I will be throwing so much information at these boys that they are going to suffer from overload for a while, but eventually they are going to get it. I am a stickler about the thought process of the game. I will be talking non-stop about situational hitting, situational pitching, and defensive preparation. The question that they are going to hear the most is “What were you thinking?” What were you thinking when you threw that pitch? What were you thinking during that at bat? What were you thinking before the pitch was thrown, were you anticipating anything? I am a firm believer that this game is more mental than physical, and the mental may be more difficult, but can be taught and can be learned by a 10 and 11 year old. If it sounds like I am going to be demanding of these boys, you are exactly right. I am definitely demanding their attention, and the other thing that I am going to require is effort.

Their attitude, their concentration, and their effort are the things that they can control. If they give me these things every time they show up, they will have a great experience I promise. The best situation for all of us is for you to plan on handing these kids over to me and the assistant coaches when you drop them off, and plan on them being mine for the 2 or so hours that we have scheduled for a game, or the time that we have scheduled for the practice. I would like for these boys to have some responsibility for having their own water, not needing you to keep running to the concession stand, or having parents behind the dugout asking their son if they are thirsty, or hungry, or too hot, and I would appreciate if you would share this information with other invited guests… like grandparents.

 If there is an injury, obviously we will get you to help, but besides that, let’s pretend that they are at work for a short amount of time and that you have been granted the pleasure of watching. Please have them at games early so we can get stretched and loosened up, and I will have a meeting with just the boys after the game. After the meeting, they are all yours again. I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved. I truly believe that the family is the most important institution in the lives of these boys. With that being said, I think that the family events are much more important than the sports events. I just ask that you are considerate of the rest of the team and let the team manager know when you will miss, and to let us know as soon as possible. We never want to be short players and be forced to forfeit a game.  I understand that things do come up, however, I ask that you please be mindful of our schedule and put the team first. If your son misses a game or a practice, it is not the end of the world, but there may be some sort of repercussion, if it becomes a habit. This is out of respect for the kids that put the effort into making it consistently. The kind of repercussions could possibly be running, altered playing time, or position in the batting order. 

I would also like to address the issue of batting order, as it is THE most complained about issue, next to playing time. Once again, I need you to know that I am trying to develop each boy individually, and I will give them a chance to learn and play any position they are interested in. However, I also believe this team will be competitive and when we get into situations where we are focusing on winning; like a tournament for example; we are going to put the boys in the position that will give the team the best opportunity. I will take the time to talk with the boys individually and have them tell me what their favorite position is and what other position they would like to learn about. As this season progresses, there is a chance that your son may be playing a position they do not necessarily like, but I will need your support about their role on the team. The boys will always have equal playing time and at-bats and your support for me is big on them following my system. I know that times have changed, but one of the greatest lessons that my coaches taught me, was that my coach was always right…even when he was wrong. The principle is a great life lesson about how things really work. I hope that I will have enough humility to come to your son if I treated him wrong and apologize. Our culture has lost this respect for authority mostly because the kids hear the parents constantly complaining openly about the teachers, coaches, and other authority figures. 

I need all of you to know that we are most likely going to lose many games this year. The main reason is that we need to find out how we measure up with the local talent pool. We are a new team please don’t forget that! The only way to do this is to play against some of the best teams. I am convinced that if the boys put their work in at home, and give me their best effort, that we will be able to play with just about any team. Time will tell. I also believe that there is enough local talent that we will not have to do a large amount of travel, if any. This may be disappointing for those of you who only play baseball and look forward to the out of town experiences, but I also know that this is a relief for the parents that have traveled throughout the US looking for better competition. In my experiences, we have traveled all over and have found just as good competition right in our own back yard. If this season goes well, we will entertain the idea of long distance travel in the future. The boys will be required to show up ready to play every time they come to the field. Shirts tucked in, hats on straight, and pants not drooping down to their knees. There is NO excuse for lack of hustle on a baseball field. From the first step outside the dugout they will hustle. They will have a fast jog to their position, to the plate, and back to the bench when they make an out. 

We will run out every hit harder than any team we will play, and will learn how to always back up a play to help our teammates. Every single play, every player will be required to move to a spot. Players that do not hustle and run out balls will not play. The boys will catch on to this quickly. The game of baseball becomes very boring when players are not thinking about the next play and what they possibly could do to help the team. Players on the bench will not be messing around. I will constantly be talking with them about situations and what they would be doing if they were in a specific position, or if they were the batter. There is as much to learn on the bench as there is on the field if the boys want to learn. All of this will take some time for the boys to conform to. They are boys and I am not trying to take away from that, but I do believe that they can bear down and concentrate hard for just a little while during the games and practices. I know this works because this was how I was taught the game and how our parents acted in the stands. We had a much disciplined coach that expected the same from us. We committed summers to this man and we were rewarded for our efforts. What I do want you to see is that this system works. I will push, grind and force your boys to give me all that they got. When it’s all said and done both them, you and my staff will be happy and thankful we left everything on the field and nothing behind. I’ve been successful with it for over 15 years with young boys, high school kids and grown men. I know that right now you may be asking yourself if this is what you want to get yourself into, and I understand that for some of you it may not be the right fit. I also think that there is a great opportunity for these boys to grow together and learn some lessons that will go beyond their baseball experience. I know in my heart these boys will love the game of baseball and be happy here. Whatever I have to do to get them where they want to go, I will do so. Last but not least. School work and grades. The boys will be required to turn into me a copy of their school grades and list of Information I will be want back from their teacher. School and grades mean a lot to me as much as their success on the field and off it. No good grades no baseball. Let me know as soon as possible whether or not this is a commitment that you and your son want to make. Please, always feel free to ask me anything! Without great wonderful parents I have no program! Thanks, I look forward to this journey with you all. 

Mike Mattheny Manifesto