In today’s episode of the Slide Podcast, coach Aaron and Bryson have a late night talk about baseball as we learn more about Bryson, the baseball manager for USC in Columbia. He started in high school playing and looking for schools to go to. That, along with the worries of getting recruited or not, lead to the stress mounting up. Eventually, he realized he was meant to be at USC.

Daily life for Bryson is on the pitch from 1:00 to 1:30PM to get things set up for the team and practice. Bryson says that the experience has helped make long-lasting connections with coaches and players. Next, Aaron and Bryson discuss the end of the season for Aaron’s team and why they don’t let the kids know the scores until the end. It’s about fostering camaraderie and teamwork and development over winning.

The two go on to talk about the similarities and differences of their childhoods in baseball and also learning to let go of losing games. Things have changed since the sandlot days and it is a shame that fields are controlled by the local government with nowhere for kids to just go and play without having to rent a field at a specific time, weeks ahead.

In the future, Bryson has thought about the possibility of coaching youth baseball but worries that his competitiveness with the younger kids could cause problems. You have to tailor expectations to the ages of kids. Teach your kids sportsmanship over competitiveness.

If you are thinking of becoming a coach, remember that kids follow the lead of the adults around them. Smile, have fun, and have patience.

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