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The baseball playoffs are set to begin, and the NFL season is just getting started.
I remember as a child there was nothing more exciting than this time of year when, even if my favorite team wasn't in the baseball playoffs, my team of choice in the NFL wasn't out of it ... yet.
There will be a baseball playoff game on television just about every night of the week for the next month. Wouldn't it be perfect if our lives could just stop for a week and we could soak in every single inning? That could happen only in a perfect sports world, which this is not (games also wouldn't end at midnight if it was).
There still will be homework to finish, youth sports practices and school activities to attend, and fall chores to do.
The chatter in school and at work will be about who is winning and losing and why. And what you would have done differently if you were the manager or coach.
As youth sports coaches, we are always trying to find ways to connect with our players to show them our human side. To have a common interest with your players, no matter the age or the sport, makes the coach-player relationship even more meaningful.
My guess is most of your players will be watching the playoffs and so will you and your assistants. They probably would be regardless of who is playing, but if one of their favorite teams is in it this year, interest will be at an all-time high.
This is the perfect discussion during stretching exercises before practice or cool-downs afterward. It could be a group discussion or a chance for you to connect to that one player who rarely speaks out, but has an opinion on whether or not A-Rod is going to finally have a good postseason.
These are great discussions to have with your players. Certainly much better than talking about dog fighting, steroids or the latest professional athlete arrested.
And at this midpoint of the fall season, it's also a nice break from just talking X's and O's.
