Tag Archives: Sports matter

February 1, 2021 · 7:00 PM

No Country For Grumpy Old Men

Something hit me like a brick the other day while looking over the Chiefs Super LV Bowl Week Spirit Activities from the elementary school where my wife teaches. Something that could have instantly thrown me, a lifelong Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs sports fan, into get-off-my-lawn-you-you-you-young-whippersnappers, grumpy-old-man mode.

It easily could have resulted in me ranting at whoever lent an ear about my long-suffering fandom, the years of terrible teams, years of gut-wrenching defeats, and years of one disappointment after another. Instead, while observing the enthusiasm the local youth exhibited after the Royals 2015 World Series Title and the recent Chiefs Super Bowl runs, I just about exploded with joy.

It’s awesome to see. The joy of being a sports fan. The joy of sports. The joy of proudly and innocently cheering for a sports team. Man, I remember those days well. Those days, in fact, help fuel my love of sports and passion for baseball and football. They helped form me into the somewhat responsible adult that I’ve become.

The young Chiefs and Royals fans in the 10-year-old range around our local elementary schools have seen two World Series, one with a championship from the Royals. They’ve witnessed an improbable three straight Chiefs home AFC Championship Games, two straight Super Bowl appearances with a great chance to win back-to-back Lombardi Trophies, and a possible run at a three-peat.

To these kids, this is normal. This is the way.

It’s crazy but it’s true.

So instead of going grumpy old man on the enthusiastic young fans in your life, join the party! Cheer them on as much or more than you cheer on the teams. Learn from their youthful exuberance and live life with their spirit and passion.

Let kids enjoy their fandom as kids. The realities of sports and of life will one day chase them down. They will learn to win as well as lose. They will suffer defeats as well as victories.

But for now, enjoy the ride, kids!

And in twenty years, we can sit down and tell stories about these times in our sports life. Oh yes, we will have stories to tell my friends.

Remember that one time…

Going Pro

I’ve had a lot of my athletes go pro. Seriously, look it up. It’s absolutely true.

It’s just that none of them have gone pro playing sports.

They are professionals, nonetheless.

Farmers
Ranchers
Teachers
Soldiers
Engineers
Park rangers
Firemen
Pilots
EMT’s
Doctors
Coaches
Landscapers
Linemen
Mechanics
Recreation specialists
Nurses
Construction workers
Fence builders
Bankers
Salesmen
Laborers
Entrepreneurs

And the list goes on and on.

They are successes in their own stories. They make me proud to have been their coach. No win, no matter how big it seemed at the time, matches the joy of observing these young men as husbands, fathers, and fine adult citizens.

I’ve coached kids who were (are) borderline brilliant. I’ve coached kids who had many adults in their teenage lives who thought they were borderline criminals. Except for a few rare outliers, I liked them all. Except for a few outliers, I believed in them and believed ALL of them would grow up (eventually) to become fine adults. They have.

Sports are great. Enjoy them while you still have the opportunity to participate. Compete within yourself to be the best you that you can be. But, please, please, please, never forget sports are a first step in your developing life, not the last step.

It gets better from here. I know this may be hard to believe, but it’s true.

Trust me on this one, kids.

Why Free?

Not too long ago, someone asked me why I don’t charge for the baseball skills and hitting camps I offer. It’s because I’m a saint…okay, okay, quit giggling, I apologize for that “little” lie.

Honestly, I’ve thought about it. As a civil servant working at a state university, with twins in college, and a teacher wife taking graduate course work, heaven knows a few extra dollars wouldn’t hurt.

But, I don’t charge a dime.
Why?
Because, nobody ever charged me.

My father, Joe Hays, never charged me for his help.

My brothers, Pat, Tim, Dan, and Tom never charged me for their time or help.

The kids in the neighborhood and my friends never charged a solid quarter for the pick-up games, the whiffle ball games and the home run derby contests.

Coaching influences Bernie Hansel, Bill Patch, Ray Kistler, Don Dumovich, “Easy” Ed Hernandez, Forest Miles, Bruce Gibb, Steve Burleson, Ron Koster, Rex Carlson, Barrett Long, and Dennis “Harpo” Hurla never charged Mike Hays anything to help him get a leg up in the game of baseball.

So, what gives me the right to charge? Nothing.

If I charge kids, who pays? Their parents, right? Now, those parents who emptied the wallet to pay for these lessons will naturally have high expectations. And, as sure as 2+2=4, these high expectations directly transfer to the kid.

Here’s a little sports secret: Stressed out, high anxiety athletes at every level do not perform well. The pressure and the expectation put on a kid after their parent’s monetary investment is something I do not want to make the kids have to deal with.

In a nutshell, here’s what we focus on in our camps:

Teach fundamental sports skills.
Teach them to be done with a relaxed and efficient body.
Practice, practice and practice these skills until they are second nature.
Now, the most important step, teach them to have fun playing. Teach them if they work at the skills and they learn to relax and perform, then success will follow. Success = Fun.

There is a lot of discussion in our community about money and extracurricular sports activities. Sports are important to me, always have been, always will be. But, I know sports are not life.
Sports are not at the core mission of what we do as communities. That is why they throw the “extra-” in front of the “curricular”.

Please, support your extracurricular activities with a positive mindset. Support them by providing the coaches and the programs with the budgets and salaries they need and deserve. But, never, ever forget to keep them in perspective.

Perspective. That’s what makes the difference.

Do sports because you enjoy doing sports. As a parent, fan, administrator, coach, or player, put sports in the proper context and savor every second you are fortunate to be involved in them.

Coach and teach sports without trying make a fast dime. I calculated my pay rate one year when I coach both football and baseball at Clay Center Community High School and it came out to be just over $5.00/hour (AND that did not include summer football conditioning hours or baseball field work time that year. It was too depressing to even calculate all that.).

Don’t do it for the money. Do it because you love the sport and love passing it along to future generations just as those in the last generation passed them along to you.

Finally, a little sports disclaimer:

Sports are not life.
Life is life.
Sport are for enjoyment purposes only.
Enjoy them!