Something really cool happened a couple weeks ago in an Intermediate game I was coaching in.

(Actually, what was cool is that something didn't happen!)

It was towards the end of a really fun back and forth, well-played game. They scored first, then we scored to tie it. Then we scored to go ahead. Then they scored to tie it, and we entered the 5th inning all square.

With a runner on 1st, their batter hit a groundball to 3rd. Our 3rd baseman backhanded it, made a solid throw, and there was a bang-bang play at 1st. The junior ump called the batter out but it looked like the 1st baseman's foot might have come off the bag when he stretched. Then something awesome happened (or didn't happen depending on your point of view).

The coach of the other team very calmly told his batter to stay on the bag, very calmly called time, very calmly walked slowly over to the home plate ump, and very calmly asked him to chat with the 1st base ump about whether our 1st baseman's foot came off the bag. During this, our coaching staff also stayed calm and let the umps discuss the play. After a brief conversation, the umpire crew decided that the original call would stand and the batter was out.

Their coach then said, "thanks" to the ump without any other reaction, told his player to hustle off the field, and the inning continued.

This was a situation, a close play in the late innings of a close game, where we've all seen Little League coaches completely lose their cool; charging at the ump screaming that the runner was safe and loudly demanding an appeal. We've all seen Little League coaches then go bananas when the call they disagreed with was upheld.

But not in this game. All the adults on the field just stayed calm, let the umps do their job, and then continued coaching.

Not only did this keep the atmosphere at the field light and positive (and therefore more fun for the kids), but their coach's behavior modeled to all the players on the field and adults in the stands the correct way to respectfully interact with umps and the correct way to respond to calls that we disagree with.

(I emailed both of their coaches after the game to thank them and to pump them up for the way they handled the situation so that they know I'm talking about them in this blog.)

We all see and hear about the worst in adult behavior on social media (videos of fights breaking out between coaches at a U9 tournament, parents physically attacking umps after the game, etc), and part of that is because online, like in the news, "if it bleeds, it leads."

Calm reactions from adults at youth sporting events always go unnoticed, because adults calmly talking to each other, isn't newsworthy.

Sadly, though, we've all witnessed the ugly side of adult behavior on the field.

But as my son gets older and the games he plays, in all sports, get more competitive and intense, I'm going to continually be on the lookout for the BEST in coaching behavior and do everything I can to highlight and celebrate that.

As one of my coaching mentors used to say; "Positivitiy and negativity are equally contagious."

So with that in mind, let's all strive to be sources of a Contagious Positive Energy at our kid's sporting events!

Play Hard, Have Fun!