About five years ago, I was coaching my Little League team in a game we were winning and I yelled some encouragement during an inning when the other team was recovering. My catcher called “time out” and went to the mound to talk to the pitcher. Before he knew it, the entire infield was on the pitcher’s mound. I just watched and saw my six players chatting and nodding their heads. This lasted much longer than one would expect. Especially considering the age of the children. I was surprised how well they communicated with each other. I remember thinking to myself that’s what youth sports are all about. See the children grow up in front of our eyes. So I decided to write what I think are some important life lessons kids can learn from baseball. And remember that for each coach or team this will vary.

1) Communications

One of my biggest annoyances in today’s world is the lack or simply not knowing how to communicate with each other. A famous actor once said that 90% of life is just showing up. As I’ve gotten older, this has become more true each year. He would add that 90% of life is simply showing up and communicating with others. How many times have we seen people who do not communicate correctly? It can be real estate or any business transaction. It can also be between two countries. Most of the time the lack of communication will bring negative results. On the baseball field, good communication will bring good results. And coaches and parents shouldn’t worry about the young age of the players. We coaches have to teach our players how to communicate properly on the baseball field. Whether it’s an infield fly ball, recognizing a bunt signal from a coach, proper communication on the baseball field will carry over into daily life.

2) Follow the rules

Our society is full of rules and laws. Sometimes I think there are too many but this is the world we live in. I have also observed that we have somehow moved away from the structure. We can be flexible in the way we do things, but I have found that in sports the best results are achieved when rules are set and players are conditioned to follow them and play and practice in a structured way. In professional sports, you will find the best athletes when it comes to organization, leadership, and rules. Coaches can enforce rules diplomatically but harshly. The rules of the game also have to be respected and followed and the sport does that. Teaching young athletes to respect the rules will be a solid foundation when they go out into the real world.

3) How to deal with pressure

I have seen many parents who do not want their children to be exposed to any degree of pressure. They will make up any excuse on purpose so that their children can gloss over the most pressing situation. I think this is a bug. One example I’ll give is that most youth baseball leagues don’t have real parity. Most coaches and parents will always try to get the upper hand when choosing teams. They don’t think about having a loaded team and they think it’s better to go 20-0, win every game 10-0 and win the league championship. Does this make your children better ball players and prepare them for adult life? Wouldn’t it be more helpful for young people if they are asked to act sometimes under some pressure and a little harshness? Wouldn’t leagues be better if teams played their share of one- and two-run games and extra innings? As adults, they won’t have to perform under pressure, whether it’s a presentation to their superiors or maybe emergency surgery. As a parent and coach, I never wanted my kids to always take the easy way out.

4) Overcoming errors

Every day, most human beings are bound to make a mistake here and there. People in the medical profession very rarely have the luxury of making mistakes. Mistakes are always made in sport. A bad throw, a waiting call on a 3 and 1 play, a missed foul shot. If you follow sports, you will surely recognize that one of the things that distinguishes the best athletes is that they can bounce back from mistakes. Part of our job as youth baseball coaches is to instill in our kids that if you make a mistake, forget it and move on to the next pitch. The worst thing an athlete can do is carry a bad shift into the next shift. Imagine the best trial lawyer in the world losing a case and giving up the law? Great lawyers will assess where and what they did wrong and overcome these challenges next time. Youth baseball should do the same. A player who strikes out his first three at-bats may be in a position to win the game with a hit in the last inning. Sport teaches this to children and we have to reaffirm it over and over again. You can get over your mistakes.

5) Respect for people

In Major League Baseball there are brush pitches, hard slides and other difficult parts of the game. For the most part though players still respect the game. We have to convey to young baseball players that they also respect the game. This includes teammates, parents, referees, etc. We’ve all seen the 12th-best player get up in a situation where the team needs a hit. Our job is to get his teammates to support him and encourage him. And it’s not the most satisfying when a less talented player gets a big hit or makes a play down the field. Once we teach players to respect the game of baseball, they will also lead them to respect not only themselves, but also others in society.

Baseball teaches a lot of things and we have to keep everything in perspective. But we also need to challenge these young players in different parts of the game so that they too become better citizens in the world.