We weren't more than 5 minutes into the first skill rotation on Monday morning this week (Day 1 of Year 20 of Spring Training Summer Camp) and a spontaneous cheer of "We Love Baseball!" broke out on the Minor Field. It made my heart swell with pride!

Spring Training's primary mission since 2004 has been to help kids fall in love with baseball and hearing thirty 7 and 8 year olds chanting "We Love Baseball!" at 9:20am on the first day of the Summer was an incredible way to kick off camp.

As everything in the youth sports world is getting more intense at younger and younger ages, I think it's absolutely essential that we as adults never lose sight that making sports FUN should be our #1 goal for young athletes. Here's 4 reasons why the "Fun First" coaching strategy is best for kids (and leagues and parents):

1. Baseball is a game and kids (but really, all people) play games first and foremost because they are fun. Little League baseball is not life and death. There are no NFL scouts at Flag Football games. Nobody who coached their PVYBL team to the 4th Grade Championship is going to get interviewed for the Lakers' Head Coaching job. Let's never forget why kids sign up to play sports: to have fun with their friends!
2. Kids who are having fun are better listeners! If you're trying to teach a new skill or set up a new drill and your kids are loving being on the field in general, they'll be much better listeners than if baseball feels like a chore to them. Better listeners become better ballplayers!
3. Kids who are having fun play harder! If baseball feels like "work" to them and the atmosphere is lacking joy, fun energy, and positive enthusiasm then they will much more likely to just go through the motions. But if baseball feels fun to them, they will naturally put a lot more effort into playing and will improve at a faster rate.
4. The latest studies on participation rates have confirmed that roughly 75% of all Little Leaguers quit baseball by the age of 12 and the #1 reason they quit is "it's not fun anymore." If we, the adults and coaches, make everything about their youth baseball experience more fun, then our kids are more likely to continue playing which in turn gives them a longer runway in the sport for further improvement and development.

So, going back to camp this week: I have 30 kids on the Minor Field. Of the 30 kids ages 7 and 8 on the Minor Field, which ones will be 12-year-old All Stars someday? I have NO CLUE! But I do know that the kids chanting "WE LOVE BASEBALL" are going to continuing playing, work harder on their skills, and will be more likely to excel down the road than 7 and 8 year olds who are getting screamed at for swinging at a bad pitch.

I also have 25 kids on the Major Field, ages 9-12 this week. Which ones are going to make their High School team? I have NO CLUE! But I do know that every kid who quits baseball before 9th Grade is guaranteed NOT to make the High School team.

When we create sports environments where developing the kid's love of the game is the primary goal, not only will rec youth sports leagues see increased participation and retention but the players who stick with their sport longer, because they're having fun, will be better set up for athletic success down the road.

I feel extremely privileged to still be a source of positivity in our local sports community after 20 years and couldn't be more excited about the next 20 years.

This is just the beginning...

Play Hard, Have Fun!