Great Stories
Montana Campus Corps:
College Students Meeting Critical Community Needs
Expect the Unexpected by Tanner Newman

Throughout the year as a legion baseball coach I was often frustrated at how little the boys seemed to respect me and listen to my advice. It was clear at times there were certain players I could not get through to unless I did so in a motherly way. I butted heads with one of these types consistently throughout the season and eventually had to stop trying to get through to him so I would not completely ruin our player/coach relationship. All I could say to him was great job when he did something well, and say nothing when he made a mistake. I really liked him as a player and constantly found myself wishing he would change his attitude and take a little advice now and then. By the end of the season it seem like he had made a little progress. He still would not take criticism but he would willingly ask me questions about situations and ask for help when he made a mistake. He did not seem to like the whole year, which did not bother me since I was not coaching to make friends, but he did something completely unexpected at season’s end. He approached me and said to me, "coach I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed playing for you." It caught me a little off-guard and I looked at him for a few seconds and said to him, "you don't have to lie, if you don't like me you can tell me. I want you to be honest with me." He then replied, "I know we had our ups and downs, but you are great at this job and I learned so much from you. I wouldn't want to play for any other coaching staff and thanks to you I respect the game and love it so much more."I hid my surprise from him and let him know how great of a player I thought he was and that regardless of our problems throughout the season I wished him the best and hoped he would one day give back to young players like I have. In baseball you are always taught to expect the unexpected, and now I realize that does not just apply on the field.

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