Alan Fowler

My son is about to turn 7. It’s difficult coaching him. But it’s even harder not coaching him. Watching him experience all his baseball firsts: First ever practice. First win in a real game. First walk-off hit. Even his first game that ended in tears—it pulls at my heartstrings every time. It’s funny. After dealing with so many types of parents over the years, I thought I understood what they went through watching their kids play. But I didn’t, not until now. There’s something about seeing your own kid out there, in front of others, that breaks your heart wide open. It can send one into a spiral of comparison, frustration and judgment, even if you know better. And I’ll admit, even with all my experience, I still catch myself thinking: Is he behind the other kids? Is he just not an athlete? Why isn’t he improving faster? Why isn’t he listening to me? Will I ever reach him? And the truth is, I don’t know these answers. Because the only approach I’ve tried so far is me coaching him. For the past three years, he’s only had me and other trained coaches by his side. Even during Spring Little League I'd train my parent coaches. Because I believe that baseball can be the glue that bonds us for life. And Im unwilling to put that at risk. So yeah, I may sound intense. But here’s the thing: if I wanted him to master karate, I wouldn’t send him to learn from people I do not know.... People who had never done karate, never coached, and never been trained. I appreciate every well-intentioned parent coach. Without you, youth sports wouldn’t exist! And leagues that support and train their volunteers deserve a round of applause. It’s why I started Legends Coach Academy—so I could share tools, strategies, and make youth sports better for kids everywhere. But I know I won’t always be his coach. And as much as I love it, I know I’ll eventually need to trust others with his development. I’ll hold on a little longer. Kids this age are impressionable, and one bad experience can turn them off the game for good. Until then, I’m staying on the field with him, savoring every tear, every hit, every joy, and every heartbreak. Anyone been through this before? Please share!

I feel bad for the kids. My first coach pitch game of the season was this Saturday. 3 practices before game 1. 12 kids on my team. I put 11 kids out on defense. (5 outfielders) While my team was on defense, I paced behind 2nd base as the other coach pitched to his players. The opposing coach knelt, throwing very high, looping pitches to his players, where they all lunged forward and swung downward with a tomahawk chop motion. Of course very few players on the other team could make contact, so all of them wound up hitting off a tee after 6 pitches or so. Each At-Bat took about 2 minutes. As I stood there silently going crazy inside, I looked at my players and my son who stood there in the field… Eager. Just watching. Not moving. Just waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever happened. Only a few players got a ball hit to them on their first game. Each player on my team got exactly 2 at bats in 90 minutes. There were only a few outs made on the bases. At the end of the game, I excitedly asked them, “Did you guys have fun!” and they all emphatically answered “YEAH!” And yes, they did have fun. As Captain Fun, I have mastered what it takes to engineer fun no matter the situation. 😜 But, was this as fun as my son’s flag football game the following day? Not even close. Was it as fun as his winter soccer league? Not according to him. Could this experience compete over time with a playdate with a friend? Or going to a playground? Unlikely. I didnt write this to be a plug for SpeedBall, but the format I created with Legends SpeedBall is not just a different format of youth baseball, it feels like an entirely different sport. It does not compare to what I just experienced on Saturday. It's not even remotely close. It is not a little more fun. SpeedBall is exponentially more fun. Truly. In the same 90 minute timeframe where the majority of kids got 2 at bats and 1 ball hit to them, in our “SpeedBall Pro-Pitch Divisions” players easily get 10-15 At-Bats (often more) and at least 6-10 balls hit to them in the field. Im frustrated because the answers to saving the declining participation numbers are clear as day: First off, STOP doing everything so early! 5-7 year olds should be doing Tee Ball. 7-9 year olds should be doing coach pitch or machine pitch. Advanced 10-12 year olds can start with rec kid pitch. I genuinely believe this change alone would save baseball. If the coach pitcher needs to come to the mound for 100% of the at-bats to finish off the hitter because the kid pitcher can't throw strikes, then you should probably be doing “coach pitch” to begin with. 8-10 year-old walk fests dont help anyone and they are the opposite of fun, yet it's the standard across the country. Second… Practice for at least a few weeks before the first game and have 2 practices for every 1 game. Most leagues run it opposite: 2 games for 1 practice and they barely practice before the first game. And they blame it on the weather. Just push back opening day, and have less games throughout the season. There’s no rule about when you have to play games and how many you should play. There’s just over competitive parents and boards who are placing their own desires over what their kids really need. Parents/Boards: You may want to watch games. But what your kids really need, more than anything, is significantly more quality practice time. I'm walking away from our first weekend of play trying to figure out what to do. Do I contact the league and ask them if they are interested in my suggestions? Do I create my own “level appropriate” rules and let the other coach know before the start of the game? Do I just power through this season with the existing format and just try and make it as fun as possible? I'm not sure of the answers, but I AM SURE that after a few games of standing around in the dirt, the majority of those kids will come to the realization that “baseball just isnt that much fun”. They will realize there are more stimulating, action packed activities where they can be far more involved and find more success. They will continue to quit baseball, like they are across the country. I love coaching. I love it at all levels. I find it fun. It was tough for me to enjoy that experience. Mainly because Im coming off seasons of SpeedBall which are so drastically different that it feels like an entirely different sport. It’s hard for me to just relax into the experience when knowing it could be significantly better with the most minor tweaks. Overall, I left feeling sad for the kids. I so badly want them all to learn, grow and fall in love with baseball. But the format that they are playing is the opposite of what they need. I hope my passion for revitalizing youth baseball is evident, not as criticism but as an invitation to explore innovative ways, like SpeedBall, to enrich our children's experiences. You know Im well past brainstorming solutions and have already launched 10 SpeedBall Leagues with dozens more starting in 2024/2025. It’s only a matter of time before youth baseball nationwide adopts a new, better, different model that actually serves kids and doesnt drain the fun out of the game. I spread these messages to inspire others and serve as the catalyst for youth baseball transformation. What are your thoughts? What do you think I should do? What do you think youth baseball and softball needs? (mainly rec) I read every comment and would love to hear from you. Your disgruntled, baseball obsessed Twitter/X friend, 👨‍✈️Captain Fun #baseball #littleleague #homerun #travelball #summercamp #fun #baseballseason #littleleaguebaseball #softball #mlb #speedball #legendsbaseball #sports

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Thanks for pumping this Alan! 🙏🏽 Youth Coaches 🚨 Checkout the NEW Legends Coach Academy and get the drills and resources you need to coach with confidence this season! Try it free here 👉 legendstraining.lightspeedvt… – at Menlo Park, CA