I coached my son's and daughters when they were young but because I know I am very animated and loud (I was trained to be in the Marine Corps). With S1 (now 17) I coached basketball, soccer and assisted the last two years in baseball, this year I am his varsity coach. Unfortunately for him, he inherited the Irish temper, couple that with a teenage attitude...UGH!!! I noticed that he struggles at the plate a lot during BP and he told me that I make him nervous. I had to pull a Gene Stallings quote and tell him, "I'm the coach, I'm going to be at every game." Seriously though, I had a talk with him and told him that although I want him to do well I don't want him to feel overly pressured to perform just because I am the coach. He's been a captain on this team since he was a freshman but this year I felt like I couldn't make coaches kid a captain, that probably not fair to him but to me it was really an impossible situation.
I'm still navigating through this with my son. I have had to call time in 2 games, once when he was at the plate and took a called strike 2 that bounced off the back of the plate and once on the mound when his RF let a routine fly ball fall and then walked to it. I told him in both situations that if he didn't clear his mind that he was struck out already and that he would pitch himself into a worse situation than his RF had now put him in. Many of these young players and parents do not realize how much the mental state plays into the game of baseball maybe more than any other sport.
One thing that I have learned in our first 3 games is that the team will follow my energy. We had a very intense game last Friday, down 6-0 after 2 innings and then came back to win going up 9-6 in the bottom of the 6th. With the intensity of the game and the added pressure of the rivalry coupled with some very questionable calls, it was pretty wild. I noticed that the team will follow what I do so I have to ensure that I maintain an even keel in order for them to maintain their focus throughout the game. I know the limits but I can't trust that my players do so it is imperative that I lead by example and if I have a disagreement with a call, have a quite, private conversation with the umpire.
I've also learned after taking the position of Area Director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes that I have to be a better fan.