Pressure is a Privilege

Youth sports never cease to amaze me.?

EJ and his teammates on the Colonels (a 9U baseball team) were playing a home game against a pretty decent team we had just beaten a week prior.

The game started as it usually does, kids were hyped, walk-up music blaring, and parents were in a fun mood happy to be there and watching the boys do what they love to do… play baseball with their buddies.

This is not going where you think it is but rather somewhere I have never seen it go before.?

An hour and thirty minutes later we were in the bottom of the 2nd inning….yes, you read that correctly… bottom of the 2nd inning…. and there had already been 29 walks issued.?

The thing is, the kids were throwing well but the ump had a strike zone that would drive a college baseball coach nuts.?And he wouldn’t budge.?

The parents and all the coaches were awesome, no one said a word. It was an incredible example of how everyone should act in youth sports when the game is going off the rails.?

There was an uncomfortable silence, an awkwardness in the air, that is hard to explain.?And then it happened.?The ump finally called a strike a little outside the zone with one problem….the ball landed on home plate.?

Our coach had enough and voiced his opinion. Nothing demeaning, nothing insulting, but let the ump know that because he had called so many walks that this was probably our last at-bat and we were now chasing 13 runs.?

So, the ump did what some kids do when they are playing with their buddies and things don’t go their way… he took his ball and went home.??

Now, this is not a note about youth sports but rather about pressure as we are all facing a certain amount of it at work, at home, and in the world we are living in right now.?

Times are… different.?

It is key to remember what and who is important.?

That ump lost sight of the night being about the nine-year-old boys on the field and he made it about himself.?As a coaching leader, it is not about you but yes, you have to be at your best regardless of the pressure you are facing.?

Pressure is a privilege because that means you are operating at a high level in a situation that matters. The decisions you make, the behaviors you exhibit, and the way you lead are going to be impactful and it is critical to be in your best mental state.?

Bad decisions as a leader are not made because of a lack of skill or knowledge. Usually, they are made because of an inability to handle pressure in a key moment.