After giving it serious reflection, I have a confession that I need to get off my chest. It's been eating me up inside, pretending to be something that I am not with all of my friends and fellow travelers on The Bucket. This will no doubt come as a surprise to many of you, but I am NOT, nor have I ever been, a softball coach for a PGF caliber organization, at least not in the technical sense of the term.
With that said, I have done my fair share of coaching over the years, just not from the bench. I'm more of what you would call a sideline coach, one who offers valuable instruction from the bleachers when the official head coach is having an off day, or just isn't getting it done. You TB coaches out there all know exactly what I am talking about.
You're team is out on the field struggling during bracket play, and you're giving them one piece of shitty advice after another, trying in vain to get them back in the game so they don't get run-ruled after the 3rd inning. You have just three more outs to get ONE run across the plate to push the game into the 4th inning before the ump calls the game. You may not know it, but what you need in that situation is a fixer. That would be me, the guy who can bring the magic and make things happen
Do I get the occasional stink-eye from the head coach, or maybe a private talking to after the game? OF COURSE I DO!, OF COURSE I DO! What softball parent doesn't if they have any passion for the game and cares about the team? Admit it, we've ALL been there at some point or another in our kid's life, when the coach has dropped the ball or mentally checked out. At that point, somebody has to take the bull by the horns and motivate the girls to play to their full potential to get their heads back in the game. I relish that role and consider it to be an integral part of the game. Just like with police work, it's a thankless job, but somebody has to do it. If not, where would we be as a society?