Coaching Girls

As most readers know, I coach Little League baseball. I always have 3 or 4 players on my squad who also play soccer. This invariably leads to conflicts with practice and games schedules. Don't even get me started on why parents would over schedule their kids with two sports. I always make my soccer players take a few extra laps at the first few practices. I tell them if they're going to play two sports, they need to be in twice as good shape. The question will always come up at some point as to which sport a kid likes better. I always tell them their answer better be baseball! When the kids ask me why I don't like soccer, I tell them "soccer is a great game, all my girls play." This usually gets them squirming.

Which leads me to the subject of this post.

I am assistant coach for my 10 year old daughter's soccer team. This is the same age group as Little League. I thought coaching them would be the same.

I should have known better!

My coaching style is sort of the lovable hardass. I DEMAND full attention, participation and effort at my practices. I explain to the team that the coaches are taking time away from their family and busy schedule to conduct practice and I expect the kids would respect that and behave accordingly. Same speech I give the Little Leaguers. I tell them if they distract from the group, they'll run a lap.

The boys may mutter under their breath, but they do it while they're running! The girls question whether I'm serious, give me a pained look, do the lap, then CRY. It's happened twice already this season. And the girls need to take more laps. All they do is chit chat and goof off. At any given time during a practice scrimmage there will be a couple of gals talking, a couple doing cartwheels and a couple chasing each other. I actually asked the head coach for permission to read the riot act the other day!

I'm making it sound worse than it is-the girls are having a good time-just not always on soccer stuff!

I won't be helping with the soccer team in the spring as my baseball duties will take up my time, but when I tell my boys they're acting like a bunch of ten year old girls, I'll have a frame of reference!