Chris Masse on Little League: Coaches not doing press conferences sends a bad message
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Chinese-Taipei, Venezuela and Texas all reached Championship Saturday at the Little League World Series last weekend.
Taipei captured the International title, while Venezuela and Texas finished third and fourth in the world, respectively. But there is more than fantastic all-star seasons and high world standings which links these teams.
There also is the poor sportsmanship displayed by their coaching staffs following losses.
When Venezuela lost to Taipei in the International championship, coaches declined to attend the post game press conference. It was a repeat when Texas lost to eventual world champion Florida later in the day for the U.S. Championship.
Following that lead, no Taipei coach attended the Series final post game press conferences after finishing second in the world and coming within one out of winning the championship. So much for setting good examples for the kids.
It's as if the coaches said: "You lost, huh? Well, no point in talking about how great you were this Series and all summer then."
I don't know what excuses those coaches made for ditching these opportunities to talk up their players and I don't care because there is no excuse. The bottom line is it sends a terrible message.
Sports teach life lessons. Some of those lessons are hard and life is hard. So, what does it say that these coaches cannot toughen up, smile through the pain and tell the world how phenomenal their teams have been?
The adage is that athletes learn more about themselves in defeat than they do in victory and it's true. The way these coaches acted afterward shows they need to freshen up on those lessons.
For crying out loud, your teams not only made it to the Little League World Series, but nearly won the whole thing. What are you upset about? You were among the four best teams in a field which began with more than 7,000.
I get it, it feels awful losing and anyone who has ever competed knows that feeling. But look at what your teams achieved. One would reason any coach would want to go shine a light on those players and salute them for their sacrifices and contributions, as well as the pride they brought their communities.
And these coaches were not the only ones ditching press conferences following losses.
The sad thing is it happened multiple times before Saturday's games. It also has been a fairly regular occurrence over the years with coaches from both the U.S and International fields declining to attend post game press conferences following defeats. It also happened three years ago when Ohio rallied through the loser's bracket, reached the Sunday's final and lost.
I can hear people disagreeing with me saying, "Well, it was a tough loss, why should they bother talking to the media?" Or, 'Well, they had to stay with the kids and console them."
Yes, it was a tough loss and that is all the more reason to let the world know how proud these coaches are. And, give me a break. There are three coaches, so one of them can come talk about how great their teams are why the other ones comfort the players. Let's not forget either that these are 11 and 12-year olds and they often flush defeat much quicker than adults can.
Highlighting this one of my favorite Little League World Series quotes ever came from Hamilton, Ohio coach Tim Nichting in 2007. His team had just lost a gut-wrenching 3-2 game when it was robbed of a walk-off home run by an incredible catch. Despite the heartbreak, Nichting arrived and was asked what he told his team afterward. He then said they should keep moving forward and added:
"If that's the worst thing that ever happened to you, be grateful that you've had a great life."
Exactly. It's a game. Keep it in perspective.
Let's not act like this is the New York Yankees media after games either. The media covering the Little League World Series have things in perspective. Nobody is going to be asking a coach to criticize a player and/or question someone's strategy. Again, these are 11 and 12-year-olds. The questions will center on asking coaches how much pride they take in what their players' achieved, what they learned through their experiences and how ecstatic their communities are.
Yup, real hard-hitting stuff, I tell ya. Oh yeah, those conferences run about five to 10 minutes long to, so don't go thinking that it was some huge time constraint either.
This is not a media member upset either about how this impacted him either. To be honest, it makes my job easier because its less quotes to transcribe before writing my story. This is simply about what is right and what is wrong.
Listen, I know these are great coaches and that they are volunteers. I also know that they have been excellent role models throughout these journeys and they have taught their players well on and off the field. They sacrifice countless hours and helped these kids live their Little League dreams while acting as fathers to 12 different players while not being home in more than two weeks.
I commend them all for that.
But they made a big mistake when those journeys ended. These losses are learning tools. They are opportunities to show these young, impressionable players how to handle defeat. These are moments to explain that what these teams accomplished is bigger than wins and losses and goes beyond baseball. They were chances to show that whatever the scoreboard said, these teams could never be defeated.
Instead, they took the easy way out. Their actions told the kids it's OK to be a sunshine soldier and accept adulation when everything goes well, only to run and hide when it doesn't.
Think about it. Professional athletes who work their entire lives reaching the pinnacle of their sports, whether it be the World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup or any other athletic endeavor address the media following crushing losses.
Kyle Shanahan talked to the media after the 49ERS lost the Super Bowl in overtime last February and after he played a major role in that defeat. Even perennially grumpy Bill Belichick did so after Super Bowl losses. Go down the line and one sees coaches almost always facing the music in college or professional sports.
I have covered high school athletics since 1999 and attended several state finals that area teams lost. Not once did a coach decline post game interviews. Not once did they make excuses to avoid talking and/or miss the opportunity to salute their teams on fantastic seasons.
Little League should make sure their coaches do not miss out either. Little League should step up and make attending post game media sessions mandatory. To keep giving coaches a pass year after year for poor sportsmanship flies in the face of everything Little League is supposed to represent.
We are told that winning does not matter at the Little League World Series since all are champions. So, why then can these coaches suddenly not talk after losses? They all did so after they won, so what's the difference now?
These players will soon be growing into young men. Their coaches can help facilitate that growth and act like men, regardless of the game's outcome.
Time-after-time coaches on these teams did.
But when the sun finally set on amazing seasons, three different coaching staffs collectively struck out.
–Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse