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by Randy Gardner

   About once every 3 years, I get a chance to do something fun with my family. This past weekend was one of them, sort of. I guess it depends on what you think fun is. I had a chance to take my family to the Cardinal’s game with discounted tickets from my wife’s work. Remember I have a family of five, so heading anywhere usually costs too much.

So it sounds like a perfect day on paper. A Sunday afternoon Cardinal’s game, highs in the low seventies and no chance of rain. How much better can it be? Okay now let’s start talking about reality. Three boys under the age of 12 sitting for three hours around my wife’s peers. What could go wrong? Let’s ask that question again. What could go wrong?

Let’s start with asking for food and saying I’m hungry the second we pulled into the parking lot, then asking every 10 minutes all game long if they can have more food and drink. That’s it you say? No, not at all. It’s only 70 degrees out but the kids are too hot from sitting in the sun.

They have to go to the bathroom, they want to play on the phone. They want to fight and hit each other and we are only in the 3rd inning. Then the kids hear that they can run the bases at the end of the game with the other 15,000 kids that are there. So what do you do? Do you leave at the 7th inning and crush their one opportunity to run the bases maybe in life? Well, we didn’t do that but we left as soon as the game was over.

They soon forgot about the base running as they got back into the car and got their electronic devices out. So to put the entire day into perspective, maybe it is better to sit at home and just watch it on TV. Although, would I have anything to tell my kids about their experience at the ballpark as youngsters? It will be a day that I will never forget. At least the Cards won the game.

Coaching Getting to be Too Much

As many of you who read my column know, I have three kids in organized sports. I am about to my wit’s end with the coaching aspect though. I love coaching but I hate coaching against other coaches. To expound on that, I am so tired of coaches yelling at kids who are under the age of 10.

I have heard from many people and have seen it first hand- a coach yell and degrade a player in front of others and the kid and parents just take it. That is disgraceful. Let’s put this into perspective, let’s say your child flunked a test in math and the teacher starting yelling at him and cursing at him in class in front of others to do better, give more, and try harder.

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