For those that have followed us long enough, you know we preach, and teach, ways to respect the game and those around you. There’s a part of the youth game that I don’t quite understand when it comes to this. Allowing players to yell, from the dugout, things towards the opposing team, that are meant to distract and make them feel inadequate. This is not the way the game should be played. This is not respecting your opponents. This is not developing respectable young men but allowing them to bully in a controlled situation. In fact, these are the players who end up grown men, sitting in the stands at a professional game thinking it’s ok to yell at the players on the field.

As a former professional player and now a coach, I call this acting “Bush league”. This is no different than disrespecting your opponent by bat flipping after hitting a HR, or showing up the batter after you strike him out. The worst part about this is that it is sometimes promoted by the coaches. I would never allow my players to do this. Coaches who do allow this are simply hunting the “W” and willing to do whatever it takes to get that Win.

Parents, if your vision is for your Dude to grow up understanding what it means to respect others, watch out for this happening on his team. If it does happen, please take the time to help him understand why this is not how we want to act. Have him put himself in the other players shoes and how it would affect him if the yelling was towards him.

This is my opinion on this subject. Take it how you will, but point blank…Whether its my players or my own children, Respect, Honor and Integrity is the focus behind everything we do.

Chris Gissell (172 Posts)

Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.

As a parent, my Dudes behavior is of the utmost importance. It is my responsibility as their leader to help them learn between what is right and what is wrong. From the way they speak to the way they carry themselves, I take it personal. With my kids all being so young, they, especially my 8 year old, are at a stage where they have a hard time deciphering between what is right and wrong, especially when they see their friends, who they look up to, act in certain ways. I don’t see or hear about everything but when I do, it’s my job as a responsible parent to set them straight. They may not like me at that moment, but that’s ok.

As coaches, how our players act in the dugout is our responsibility. I have seen some players who are great teammates and others who should be benched for their actions.

The best always make it a point to be positive. If a teammate is having a tough game, they don’t criticize behind their back. They don’t yell things from the dugout at the other team. If they strike out, they don’t hang their head and come back to the dugout and sit on the bench and pout while their team is trying to put something together. And they ALWAYS congratulate their teammates on their successes and are genuinely happy for them.

Players who are selfish need to be kept in check at all times. By allowing a player to act like this, not appreciate the efforts of their teammates, you are setting them up for a life where they will think it is ok to act like this. It should be unacceptable for a player to sit on the bench and hang their head because they made an error in the field or struck out. Every player should be up and high-fiveing when their team is out there working and scoring runs. Keep your eyes open for those who are not and you will see the selfish ones. It should be unacceptable for your players to yell at the other team or laugh at them when they make errors. And it should never be ok for your players to ridicule or put down their teammates for their ability. A player who does this would not have a place on my team.

With that said, young, and old men, like to tease back and forth. It’s usually just for fun but I have often seen it get to a point where someone takes it personal and feelings get hurt. This is bound to happen as we are controlled by emotions but we need to teach our Dudes and help them understand what is ok, what is taking it too far and that if they can dish it, they better be able to take it.

As always, there are so many life lessons we learn from this game. How we handle ourselves and how we handle the way others act is up front and center every day we are on the field. Be the best person/player/coach you can be and it will make life a lot more enjoyable.

Be positive, be respectful, be honest and be caring towards others as often as you can.

Chris Gissell (172 Posts)

Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.

I’ve played in many stadiums in many states and was blessed to do the same overseas in Japan and Taiwan.

Wherever you go, the game is the same. Baseball is baseball. There has been one big difference though that to this day I am reminded about on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it’s the way the fans act.

If you have never played this game, I could tell you how tough it really is and I’m sure you would shake your head as to understand but there is no way to really know if you haven’t tried to do it day after day.

I don’t think I will ever understand what is going on in someone’s mind when they go to a game and feel that it’s ok to say/yell words and comments at players. I have heard some pretty harsh things over my career but have learned to ignore it and not take it personally but see young players let it affect them. The instances that are toughest to swallow are the ones where an adult is doing this with a child in the seat next to them. I always feel bad for how that kid is going to grow up thinking is an ok way to act.

Now with that said, I need to say that during my three years (2 in Japan and 1 in Taiwan) playing overseas, I never once heard a boo. Every single day, the fans appreciated our effort. It was a breath of fresh air.

At the end of the day, it’s great playing in front of great fans. There are a ton out there. In fact most are great. Unfortunately, it’s the few bad ones who give fans a bad name. If you are a fan, please understand that those players have a unique talent, work hard and are people just like you trying to succeed at a very tough game. Be kind, be polite and appreciate their effort.

“Be a Great Fan”

Chris Gissell (172 Posts)

Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.

I am very fortunate to spend a every day around some of the best players and coaches in the world. Today I got to listen to one of our coaches explain, to one of our top prospects, what goals are, why they are important and how you should set them. Here you go…

Long term goals…This is the big picture. What you would like to happen 2, 3, 5, 10 years from now. Obviously, this players goal is to get to the big leagues. For this to happen, he needs other smaller goals to achieve before he can reach his long term goal of getting to the show.

Intermediate goals…A year from now, where do you want to be. For him, it may be to be in AA. This level is a milestone for players because if you can get there, compete and be a good player, then you know you have a chance. They say if you can compete in AA, you should be able to compete the big leagues.

Short term goals…Now these are the really important ones. It’s ok to have a few of these but they need to be put in order. To achieve one, there is another one you need to accomplish first and before you can get to that one, there may be something else to do. For young players, it’s all the little things like solidifying their routines on and off the field. Learning more about their delivery or swing. Getting stronger, and whatever other little things are on their list.

You can’t get to your long term goal until you achieve your intermediate goals and you won’t get there until you achieve all of your short term goals.

Here’s an example for you. Our long term goal for Baseball Dudes (the website part of our business) is for it to be a household name that people think of when they want free quality and trusted baseball information, instruction and guidance. To get there, our intermediate goals are to form relationships with teams, leagues, organizations and facilities to provide them with the proper information to create smart players and coaches who understand what it takes, mentally and physically, to be successful at this game and the game of life. But, before we can get there, we have a few things to accomplish like adding more writers to the website who are experts from other areas on the field (right now, we are all pitchers), continue to build our creditability by sharing our knowledge via Facebook, twitter and our website, add to our Video Tips library and continue to add documents to our website like practice plans, different drills that are diagramed, team fundamentals and the list goes on.

Bottom line, to make your ultimate goals a reality, you need to think smaller first. One step at a time. Be patient, give it all you’ve got and never lose site of the big picture.

Chris Gissell (172 Posts)

Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.