What a great series and what a great Game 5!

But we can be honest; as a baseball fan, the check swing call to end the game was a disappointing finish.

As a Giants fan, I'm sure it was heartbreaking.

As a Dodgers fan, you're probably saying it didn't matter because there's no way Scherzer was going to give up anything that inning (I agree with you on that!).

As a youth baseball coach, I'm always looking for the teachable moment...and that definitely was one.

Let's start with what the Giants had to say about it:

"I don’t think I went. Every at-bat matters in a close game, but there are some things you can’t control," is what Wilmer Flores said about the at-bat.

And here's what manager Gabe Kapler said:

"Obviously, you don't want a game to end that way. I know these guys work really hard to make the right call, so it's super challenging on our end. … There's no need to be angry about that. I just think it's just a disappointing way to end. There are other reasons we didn't win today's baseball game," he said.

Some important takeaways here:

I like Flores' response because he expressed his opinion without pointing fingers and recognized the gravity of the situation but ultimately, like a true professional, admits that there are some things in baseball a player simply has no control over. What the umpires say certainly falls into that category.

I've taught for years that players at a young age should learn to focus on only what they can control (effort, attitude, hustle, sportsmanship) and to learn to ignore what they can't (the umpires, bad hops, hitting line drives right at defenders, etc). An easy to understand allegory that I share with my players is this: we can't control the weather, so it's a massive waste of energy to get upset if it rains or is cold or cloudy because it can't change anything!

Getting upset about an umpire's call is also a massive waste of energy. Umpires can't change their minds so the only thing a player does by allowing himself to get upset by a call he doesn't like is that he's now choosing to take his focus away from what really matters: THE NEXT PLAY!

As for Kapler's response, there's a great lesson there for all Little League coaches and parents: umps are doing their best, their job is difficult, and of course they are not trying to make a mistake.

As adults watching our kids play sports, we often get so caught up in the game that we lose sight of the humanity of the umpire or ref. Especially in Little League, the umps are just guys who love baseball, who aren't getting paid a lot, and who are humans doing their best. Let's not lose sight of the fact that behind that mask and protective gear is a person trying to do the right thing...just like all of us are.

That's why at the end of every Fall Ball game I make the teams thank the ump before he leaves the field. If the ump doesn't show up, we don't get to play a game!

Last thing about "bad calls." In the long-run, they will all even out.

For every play where your son busts it through the bag at 1st, beats the throw by a split-second and gets called out, there will be another play exactly like that where the throw will beat him, but the umpire will call him safe.

For every pitch 2 inches outside that gets called a strike, there will be another pitch that catches the corner and is called a ball.

It might not even out immediately, but over the course of a season I promise that the calls will even out.

Finally, and most importantly, it is our responsibility as the adults at the field to model good behavior for our kids. We try to do that everywhere else in life for our kids so why should the field be any different?

Just like we teach them to say please and thank you and look people in the eye and give a firm hand shake by doing that ourselves, we need to treat umpires the same we want our kids to treat umpires. We need to react to adversity and disappointment the same we want them to react to adversity and disappointment. We need to teach them to be mentally tough and focus only on what they can control by being mentally tough ourselves and focusing only on what we can control.

If you're a parent or coach who is yelling at umps and constantly complaining about calls and blaming the officiating for a loss, all you're really doing is teaching your son to act the same way.

No high school or college coach in the world wants a player on his team who whines, complains, and throws fits whenever something doesn't go his way. Coaches want mentally tough and mature athletes who when something doesn't go their way, they double down on their effort and intensity and simply keep playing the game hard with focus and determination.

Remember, the most important part of youth sports is NOT winning and losing, but rather what our kids learn about effort, respect, and dealing with adversity.

Let's all commit to be a positive part of that learning experience.

PLAY HARD, HAVE FUN!