At first, I was pleased with the this team's coaching philosophy of:

"I have to teach them the fundamentals of baseball, and, like a teacher, I have to work with kids of every skill level and bring the skills out of them. Like learning the alphabet, repetition of the basics helps them to refine their skills."

But upon further review, this T-ball team, in my opinion, is headed for trouble. Seems they practice four times a week for several hours with their practices based upon "MLB principles." I am willing to bet that most of these kids will be burned out by youth baseball in a year or two.

I seriously think that this league is taking t-ball teams a bit too far.

Thoughts?

Copyright 2007 The Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Palm Beach Post (Florida)


June 20, 2007 Wednesday
FINAL EDITION


SECTION: NEIGHBORHOOD POST; Pg. 29

HEADLINE: OKEEHEELEE T-BALL SQUAD WINS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

BYLINE: By TRACY CASSAGNOL Palm Beach Post Staff Writer


Players get drafted in early spring, hand-picked from teams throughout Palm Beach County.

Practices are focused, lasting for several hours, four days a week.

Coaching revolves around Major League Baseball principles.

The Okeeheelee Youth Baseball T-Ball All-Stars might not be professionals, but the 5- and 6-year-old players are giants in their league, carrying on Okeeheelee Youth Baseball's winning tradition by earning the highest title in T-ball.

On June 10, the team won the state championship (southern division) at the Cal Ripken-Babe Ruth State T-Ball Tournament, beating Palm Beach Gardens 16-4.

On June 6, many of the players and their families made the 41/2 -hour drive to Chiefland for the playoffs. Teams from throughout the state participated in the tournament, which culminated in a final between Okeeheelee, 3-0, and Palm Beach Gardens, also 3-0.

According to Team Manager Rick Crosby, the team demonstrated its skills throughout the game.

"The players attempted a 6-4-3 double play several times," Crosby said.

"Even though they didn't quite get it, it was just fantastic to see 5- and 6-year-olds attempting such a complex play."

In the spring, managers from each Okeeheelee team nominate their best players for the all-star team. Members of the team are: D'Angelo Allione, Rhett Crosby, Jake Gerardi, Taylor Clapp, Wyatt Crosby, Cory Croteau, Jake Boddy, Austin Grinnan, Jimmy Behar, Richard Janis, Ivan Suarez, James O'Sullivan.

Crosby, whose twin boys play for the team, credits the players' dedication with earning the title. He and coaches Ryan Clapp and Kash Croteau prepared the players, who practiced for five weeks and spent time at Hammertime Performance facilities in the batting cages. Crosby emphasizes repetition.

"I constantly have to remind myself that they are not pros," Crosby said.

"I have to teach them the fundamentals of baseball, and, like a teacher, I have to work with kids of every skill level and bring the skills out of them. Like learning the alphabet, repetition of the basics helps them to refine their skills."

According to Crosby, the players and their families celebrated at Manatee Springs, where the boys had a cookout and enjoyed the springs.

Coach Clapp, whose son, Taylor, is the shortstop, remembers the winning moment.

"When we had cinched the win, it was the greatest feeling," Clapp said. "The smiles on their faces were just great. They worked so hard and all of their hard work paid off."

[email protected]

Another case of coaching behavior gone bad, very bad!

Copyright 2007 The Morning Call, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)


June 14, 2007 Thursday
FIFTH EDITION


SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. B1

HEADLINE: After hit, lacrosse coach ousted;
He struck a player for another team. Plea puts him on blacklist.

BYLINE: By Steve Esack Of The Morning Call


Adam Stoerrle thought he made a clean play, retrieving the loose ball from the opposing Nazareth Middle School lacrosse player.

Nazareth Coach Frank Kelly didn't think so, and he let Adam know by hitting the 13-year-old in the face after Stoerrle's Moravian Middle School team beat Kelly's squad 7-2 on April 23. It's a blow that likely will end Kelly's coaching career.

Kelly, 47, of 406 Main St. in Stockertown -- who was fired from his coaching job with the Nazareth Area lacrosse booster club the day after the hit -- pleaded guilty last month to a harassment citation for striking the youth "in the head with an open hand" at Glacier Field in Bethlehem, according to court documents. His plea before District Judge Elizabeth Romig carried $221 in fines and court costs.

Kelly's plea means he would be forbidden from coaching again in a Pennsylvania school district and would make it more difficult for him to coach for a community-based youth organization. Most youth sports programs do background checks.

Kelly, who could not be reached for comment, would not be permitted to coach or work at a school again because his guilty plea falls under the section of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code that includes stalking, Department of Education spokesman Mike Race said. Stalking is one of the crimes that would cause someone to fail a background check.

Jim Tiernan, athletic director for private Moravian Academy, said he was unaware that Kelly had pleaded guilty. Tiernan said he was pleased that Nazareth acted so quickly to ban Kelly from coaching.

Bill Stoerrle, Adam's father, said Kelly had to be restrained during halftime of the Moravian match because he was angry at Adam.

Then after the match, as the players and coaches lined up to shake hands, Adam said Kelly slapped his hand and then surprised him with a blow to the chin -- with a closed fist, not an open hand as the citation states.

"We went in line to shake hands and he hit me," Adam said.

Lisa Broderick, president of the Nazareth Middle School's lacrosse booster club, declined to comment on whether she or anyone else in the program had received prior complaints about Kelly, or if anyone had witnessed poor behavior on his part. Broderick said the decision to fire Kelly was jointly made by the booster club and Nazareth Area School District Athletic Director Bob Holland, to whom she referred questions.

Holland said he had never had a complaint about Kelly prior to the Moravian match. Holland declined further comment, citing private personnel issues -- even though Kelly was not a district employee.

Nazareth Area's lacrosse program is a cross between a school-sponsored sport and club activity because they are partially funded by taxpayers and parents. The high school team was started about five years ago as a club team, meaning the team does not receive taxpayer funding. This year, the district began to partially fund the high school's junior varsity and varsity teams.

The middle school lacrosse program, which began last year, is a club team solely funded by parents of the players.

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association uses state police and Department of Welfare checks for prospective coaches for scholastic sports the independent organization represents.

Starting in July 2008, the PIAA will begin to cover scholastic lacrosse regardless of whether the program is taxpayer or club funded, said PIAA spokeswoman Melissa Mertz. Mertz said PIAA relies on local school officials to handle their employees and rarely gets involved in disciplining coaches.

Reporter Joe McDonald contributed to this story.

There are probably thousands of similar stories such as this one. The 30 year mentoring relationship between John Grim (the mentor) and Jack Griffin (the protege) from Frederick, Maryland is a joy to read about. The friendship that developed from a more experienced coach identifying and then mentoring a protege for years--passing on invaluable information and lessons-learned.

Read more about this mentoring relationship @
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/sports/display.htm?StoryID=61182