Our team the Strasburg Express, www.strasburgexpress.com, has finished its first season,and I've completed my first year as General Manager. I thought some lessons I've learned might be of interest:
1. Host families are precious gems. (We had a pleasant season and have more wanting to host than we'll have players next summer, a good problem.)
2. Some college coaches will be brutally honest about the players they want to send. Love those guys. Some will blow smoke. Forget them. The former outnumber the latter.
3. Every good team needs a catcher with a cannon for an arm, a shortstop that can cover a lot of ground, and good starting pitching.
4. You really never have enough pitching. We had 15 on a 28 man roster...and needed every one of them.
5. Parents are....parents, at every level. Most are just a joy, supporting their sons and appreciating the summer ball experience. A very rare few never learned their lesson in Little League-be seen and not heard. In year one we fortunately had the good guys.
6. It's a blast to meet new "baseball people". There really is something to those that follow this game, that make most just delightful human beings.
7. Players don't really understand the cost of the game. On two of our exit evaluations, players said we needed to buy new lights. (If they get drafted, I'll e-mail them for the $150,000.)
8. 90% of summer collegiate baseball is a lot of work, but also a ton of fun, if your spouse is on board. (If not, you'll be divorced by August). 10% is "What the heck is coming next?"
9. 12 bat boys=too many. But they were all cute....and the only parent "complaint" was from a mom-her 9 year old is now walking around spitting all the time...
10. If you can't offer a decent explanation as to why little boys can hear "language", but little girls can't, you will have bat boys and bat girls. I couldn't and I did. (The mom told me she wouldn't hear anything in the dugout she hadn't already heard in travel softball.)
11. Composite wooden bats are budget savers, and they work just fine. Our top hitter, who led the Valley League in hitting with a phenomenal .420 average, used a wooden composite.
12. In summer ball, players need to play. Period. PT is the name of the game. Not every game, but lots of PT. We did a good job of this with one exception, but we realized that one too late. The player left and I apologized to him and his dad. They were very gracious. It feels lousy to feel that you let a kid down. Lesson learned. But it still feels lousy.
13. Don't forget these guys aren't used to playing 6 nights a week-they need nights off, even if they don't agree.
14. You can lose 10 pounds in 2 months by eating 2 hot dogs and drinking a large sweet tea every evening...if you're also at the ballpark from 4:00 to 11:00. I did and I was.
15. An understanding supportive wife is just a blessing from God. My wife tolerated..well, actually, enjoyed the whole season and made it to 43 of 44 games in 2 months. That doesn't count the months of work spent getting ready for the season. If your spouse isn't behind you, go ahead and budget for a divorce lawyer.
I'm sure there are more but this is too long already.
H-1
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