I am NOT "that dad"!

My son Nicolas is 7 and is playing his first year of Little League...and being as objective as possible...the kid is a good little baseball player. He practices hard and plays hard...when he gets off the school bus in the afternoon he comes inside and within 60 seconds is asking me to play catch. The kid eats, sleeps, and lives baseball. I can't even begin to explain the joy I get from watching him play...and I couldn't be any prouder of him.

My oldest son, Jack, is also playing his first year of Little League...albeit with a little less enthusiasm. He likes playing baseball, but it certainly isn't his passion like it is for Nick. I'm thrilled that Jack decided to play baseball because he's really pushing outside of his comfort zone and showing some real growth. He's trying new things and finding out that he is good at other stuff besides art, science, and math. Again, I'm a proud dad...but Jack also has a ton of potential to be a pretty decent baseball player if he decides to work at it.

On Saturday they had their first game of the season.

As their Bench Coach I have a front row seat to the action. I also get to give them a last minute pep talk, or help them calm their nerves as they head to the plate. It's also an open invitation to stick my foot in my mouth and have other parents think I'm a terrible guy!

At the bottom of the 4th inning Nick was playing third base. He missed a line drive shot and the ball rolled to the outfield. The left fielder scooped up the ball and made a throw to third...but Nick was busy watching the runner advance and missed the throw, allowing the runner to score, and the ball rolled to where I was standing. Of course chaos ensued...the Manager was yelling to him, parents were screaming, kids were running...and poor Nick looked bewildered for a second.

I knew from practicing with him for hours that he knew exactly what to do in that situation, but somewhere in all the action he just lost his focus. Being competitive by nature, and having high, but reasonable, expectations of my son, I was a little too enthusiastic in lighting up his butt! I didn't realize it at the time, but my tone of voice was a little harsher than what I intended and the look on my face was obviously not that of a loving, caring dad.

While Nick was perfectly fine, and understood that I wasn't mad at him...some parents sitting outside the fence weren't quite so understanding! A couple of women in particular had a few choice words for me. Thank God my wife, and the Managers wife, were there and explained that Nick is my son, and that I'm not a fanatical tyrant out to embarrass and humiliate his son. It was also pointed out that Nick is one of the better players on the team with hopes of moving up to the next level of Little League next year, and will be expected to make plays just like that one.

Between innings my wife yelled over and jokingly told me to take it easy on the players. When I looked at her with that "Huh?" look on my face...she told me to chill out or some mom's were going to kick my butt! I still didn't understand what she was talking about...and that's when the other mom's chimed in to set me straight about being mean to my own kid!

I was shocked that they thought I was too hard on my son...and made a couple of jokes to let them know that I'm not "that guy"...but still, it certainly gave me a reason to pause and reflect.

After the game Nick and I talked about the play, and what happened afterward. He knew he'd missed the play, and didn't even realize that I had "chewed his butt" as someone put it.

So...if you have kids that play Little League, or any sport for that matter, be enthusiastic, be supportive, cheer and scream...but take it from me, be careful how you say what ever it is you say.

By the way, the Hollis Cardinals came back in the next inning...Nick hit a double to drive in a run and ended up scoring. Jack had a chance to hit the go ahead run, but struck out swinging to end the game 6-6.

The kids and the coaches wanted to go another inning, but the parents pulled rank and the first game is in the books! Go Cardinals!