My 9-year-old son is interested in both BMX and skateboarding. So when I found out that Baltimore was the first stop of the 2007 AST (Action Sports Tour), which features skateboarding, BMX and motocross, I made plans for him and I to go.

Now I've watched bits and pieces of these action or extreme sports on TV from time to time. but never in person. When we got there, my son wanted to go directly to the BMX Park, so that's where we spent most of our time. It was interesting to watch both the riders -- who performed a dazzling array of tricks with names that for the most part were Greek to me -- and my son watch the riders. Although he's never seen BMX in person, he had an instant sense of what tricks were really cool, and which ones he might like to try some day.

I felt compelled to talk about how long the riders practice a trick before trying it in competition, and that it takes even the best riders some time to work up to bigger tricks. My son, though, was ready to give some of the most basic things he saw a try.

Within a couple of hours of getting home, he was out on his bike, which he viewed much differently than he had a day earlier. I must admit that I did as well. I was impressed with the skills of the riders we watched, and while being somewhat nervous, am interested to see what new moves my son works on with his bike. I am also glad we now have this in common on some level, and that this may continue as long as he's interested in BMX and those type of sports.   

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 10:29 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

My daughter's softball team, which I coach, only had four players for today's game, as compared to the other team's nine. That's the bare minimum we needed to play, thanks to league rules that have parents serving as both pitcher and catcher. 

This discrepency in numbers didn't seem to faze the girls on our team at all. The couldn't help but notice all the fielders when they were at bat, but their hits seemed to go where the other team wasn't the entire game.

After several innings in which both teams scored the maximum or five runs an inning, in the span of five minutes we made our first double play of the season on a lineout and caught a pop fly to retire the side after allowing only one run.

We scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead, and an inning later, scored three runs to win the game by a run. It's interesting that the parents talked a lot about the difference in numbers, but the girls didn't mention it. In fact, rather than looking at the small lineup as a disadvantage, they were glad to get to bat more often than normal.

Parents in this situation would think the odds of the smaller team winning would be too much to overcome, but kids don't think that way, and it showed on the field. That's why they play the game, as the old saying goes, and I couldn't have been prouder of our team for their effort today -- win or lose.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 08:51 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

In the wake of San Antonio's sweep of Cleveland to capture its fourth NBA title in 9 years, there are some clear lessons for youth sports coaches, players and the kids themselves:

1. Teamwork wins championships. The Spurs are truly a team, and won with a great team effort. Although they have three stars in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, it was arguably defensive stopper Bruce Bowen who played the biggest role in this championship, as he shut down LeBron James, who shot less than 35 percent during the Finals.

2. Take responsibility for your actions. Moments after the final game, LeBron James was asked all sorts of questions about why his performance wasn't up to his usual standards. Rather than making excuses, James said he didn't play well enough for his team to win, and said he had a lot to work on during the offseason to improve as a player. That's saying a lot, given James is arguably one of the NBA's best five players already.

3. Win with class. I think back to Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who encourages his players to hand the ball to the referee after scoring a touchdown rather than celebrating wildly, the point being that you should act like you've been there before. This is San Antonio's fourth title in nine years, and the Spurs know the right way to act, which is a refreshing change.

The Spurs are not the most exciting team, but from their coach and star players on down they set a great example both on and off the court. Too many times these days we see players and coaches making a scene, taunting other players, saying inappropriate things and not being good teammates or ambassadors of the game. It's nice to have a champion we can feel good about.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 11:40 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I'm the coach of my daughter Olivia's softball team, and we practice Fridays at 6:30. This past Friday the weather forecast called for a high of 95, but I didn't think anything of it when seeing that in the morning paper.

Upon getting to work, though, a friend mentioned that I might want to consider calling off practice due to the heat.

Coaching my daughter is something I look forward to, and given that the season is only seven weeks long, with one practice and game a week, I'm loath to cancel one of these opportunities.

My friend's comment, though, got me thinking to last week's practice. Although not nearly as hot as this past Friday, it was warm, and after about 45 minutes the girls let me know they were ready to stop.

I also thought about this from the perspective of a 7-year-old's parent instead of a coach, and saw nothing to gain from my daughter practicing in such heat.

At that point, I e-mailed the parents suggesting that we cancel that night's practice. Several parents let me know they thought this was the right thing to do, so I called it off. I then phoned all the parents, and their responses confirmed that this was the correct decision.

It's easy to lose sight sometimes of what's really important, as I did in this case. A big part of coaching on any level is taking, or at least considering, the advice of others, especially from those who are talking from experience. I can site many incidences this season when that advice has come in handy, with Friday being just the latest example.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 06:02 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

As parents and coaches, we often have a hard time teaching our youth sports athletes the concept of team. This covers everything from working together rather than going it alone, showing up for practices and games because others are counting on you and your actions on the field impact your teammates to name a few.

Further blurring the concept of team are all the stories about high-profile college and professional athletes who receive no or reduced punishment for transgressions large or small, thus not affecting the team much at all. Compare this to the recent story about Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and his team. Several Penn State players were involved in an off-campus fight and arrested. To send a message both to these players and their teammates that no player or players are bigger or better than the team, Paterno said the team would clean 107,282-seat Beaver Stadium after each home football game this season.

Needless to say, this is not something other Division I football players are likely to be doing this season. Perhaps the best part of this story is that Penn State's club sports teams usually do the stadium cleanup as a way to raise money, and Paterno said that won't change, even though his players will be doing the work.

Paterno, who has been Penn State's head coach since 1966, may be old school, but his emphasis on doing things the right way -- both on and off the field -- is to be admired. This is just the latest example.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 02:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)