efore you think this is a sermon on coaching, bear with me, I will bring this back to officiating. I promise, Tee!

A little knowledge

Like most life-long officials, I am a Type A personality, one who needs to be in control. So I decided early on that if I was going to coach, I needed to know what the heck I was doing. My first job was to learn as much about the technical side of the games as I could. When one of the players this week asked me why I was  helping with a baseball camp, I told him: "I would like to learn as much coaching stuff as I can, now that I have turned to the Dark Side. I need to learn more about the technical side of the game. The part about arguing with the umpires? Well, I have that one down pat." We both grinned.

Baseball was easy. When you've worked a few thousand games, you learn a thing or two. Soccer was a different story. I had never played or officiated this game. I talked to top level-coaches, helped some on the field for the first few weeks, stole some drills from them, and read the rulebook. It is amazing how much you learn about a game you don't know just by reading the rulebook. I know, I know. Rich Ives said just reading the rulebook wasn't enough. Up here in snow country, though, we don't have so many "official interpretations."

A plan

Now it is the beginning of the season, and I am ready to jump into coaching. Again, being type A, I know I need a plan.

What do the players want. The parents? What is the goal of youth sports?

Unlike the crazies that Peter Osborne rails about, in Canada many of us involved in youth sports are there for the right reason. That is, we want to provide a learning environment where the kids can have fun, get some exercise, and learn not only sports lessons but life lessons, too.

To ensure my plan would happen, I needed to learn everything I could about the Dark Side.

Friend or foe

Ok, I told you I would bring this back. Well, I am back.

Continued...