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| Pensacola Pelicans vs. El Paso Diablos 2007 |
First off, I love baseball. I don't love it like a fan loves it, it is me. It has been my life since the age of five. I knew at that age I would be a professional baseball player. People think that it is ridiculous at the age of five that you would know what you want to be, but I lived the dream. Actually, it wasn't a dream, it was a belief. It consumed my every day being. I haven't gone one day in my life without thinking about the game. People have passions for all sorts of things in life, baseball just happens to be mine.
I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts called West Newbury. It is a town of about 4,000 people, nestled in the woods in the northeast part of the state. My friends and I would play backyard baseball almost every weekend we could. Everything we did as children involved the game whether it be from wiffle ball, a pick up game, card trading, video games, or watching baseball on TV. I'm not sure why it was that way, but all I know is that I was pretty lucky to have a group of friends that loved it just as much as I did. We played the game because it was fun.
I currently live in McKinney, TX where I am a baseball instructor at Frozen Ropes. I recently got back into instruction because I find it very rewarding and fulfilling. After retiring in 2007, I worked in the Oil and Gas industry as a Landman here in Texas as well as an Estimator/Project Manager for a commercial construction company. While these careers may sound all well and good, they did not fill the void that was left after retiring from baseball. I am at a point now where I want to do something that is fulfilling, rewarding, and on my terms. Baseball has always provided these qualities in my life, so now I am on the pursuit for them once more. I may not be able the throw the ball like I used to, but maybe I can shed some light on a player's perspective of the game.
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| Photo courtesy of Stewart Smith Photography Portland Sea Dogs 2004 |
This blog is not intended to be about me, so I will keep this introduction brief. My intent is to deliver my opinion and analysis on issues in baseball and the state of the game today. I hope that you come to enjoy reading my blogs and maybe see a different side of the game you haven't seen or read before. I am not much of a statistical person, you will not see numbers on here that will make your head spin. But, I am also learning to be more open to that aspect of analysis. I will show you a more human side to the game based on my experiences with professional baseball. I hope all you enjoy what is to come. I welcome any feedback to postings (positive and negative), and any questions you may have. My first post will be up shortly. Thanks for stopping by.
Best Regards,
Colin Young
Can't wait to read your perspective
ReplyDeleteThanks Colin
ReplyDeleteI think we share a common view of this game. My name is Dozer. I am a disabled Iraq vet. I broke my back going back into Baghdad in 2005. I have been coaching since about a week after my 6th spine surgery. Now it has been a few years and I have been working my way up as my son Raiden gets older. Now as a 3rd grader he is enjoying his first year of 9 year old live arm baseball.
My coaching philosophy is very much like what I read in your Parents your kid sucks blog. I don't push them, I encourage them. We all remember a coach that we had that screamed and yelled and pushed. We hated going to practice. That's not teaching love of the game. You can preach fundamentals until you are blue in the face but as long as you push you will get resistance. Now, get a child to love a game, they will want to get better. Teach them things like team work and sportsmanship. Teach them integrity of the game and the rules. Get the families involved. Make sure they understand that the weight is not on their shoulders, but with every other member of the team.
I like to make them laugh to reiterate the fun aspect as baseball is a game. I use a lot of baseball movie snippets like "you're killing me Smalls" but the fav of the team is from the movie Hardball. Last night, my little pitcher got a little frustrated in the first inning and you could see it. So I called out to him and as he looked at me I threw my hands up and started singing I love it when they call me big poppa... Half my infield started doing it as well as some players from the bench of the opposing team.
We were still handed our first defeat of the game and my wrap up speech after the game was typical in Dozer fashion. I was very positive about the things we did well and reinforced the good things we saw. I told them that when you play a game, there will always be wins and losses. Anyone can win, it's how you deal with defeat that truly identifies your character as a champion. I asked if they had fun and of course it was an overwhelming cheer. Then I asked quite simply do we love baseball? I was nearly mobbed.. Show them love for the game, and they will remind you why you volunteer to coach every single moment. It's awesome.
Thanks, Colin, for your words of inspiration
Dozer
Dozer,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't have said it better myself. Just reading that I can imagine the smiles on the kids' faces. Keep doing what you do because it sounds like your making a great impact on them. And, thank you for your service and sacrifice for our country. Much appreciated. Thanks for posting
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ReplyDelete