From the Evansville Courier Press, July 26, 2009
Youth sports suffered a great loss this past week when long-time little league baseball coach Larry Collins lost his battle with cancer. Larry was a great mentor of young children, and used sport to teach valuable life lessons to those who were fortunate enough to know him and play for him.
At his wake, Larry's daughter Lainie showed me a letter that her father was sent years ago after initially becoming part of the Evansville Little League. The letter was addressed from its commissioner, Arad McCutchan, to the parents of young Larry Collins the player.
I was amazed at both the fact that the letter had survived over the years, and by the content of the letter. McCutchan's letter was a commentary of how parents and players should behave in youth sports, and still serves an important message for both groups today:
"All of us must be aware that with each honor or privilege that comes our way, comes also some responsibilities. The purpose of this letter is to invite your attention to the part you are expected to play.
"The objective of Evansville Little League Baseball, Inc. is to provide baseball for boys. Friendly competition is very desirable' however, this may be carried to such lengths that many evils are associated with it. Competition at this age is undesirable when the wish to win is the chief consideration, and the banner of superiority over opponents is held high. More important are the ideals: The determination to play one's best, to put forth every effort, to cooperate with fellow teammates, to play always with absolute honesty, to be tolerant of the errors of teammates, and to be friendly toward and appreciative of opponents.
"Good play, even without victory, is one satisfaction of a game. If victory comes today, defeat may come tomorrow. If these ideals are held high in our esteem we can have a situation where sportsmanship is observed by all players, managers, coaches, and spectators. This means that as parents we will not tolerate the razzing of any team or boy and that we will remember that these are only boys."
McCutchan's message oozes of core values that transcend sport — that being a member of a team is a privilege and not a right; that competition, when channeled properly, is very healthy; that we should encourage our children to play as hard as possible all of the time; that tolerance and respect of teammates and opponents are as critical as hitting and fielding; that sportsmanship is a lesson that should be shared by both players and parents.
It was hard to read this letter and not think of how it paralleled a lot of Larry Collins' philosophies and expectations for his young players. McCutchan, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is well-regarded as one of the great coaches and teachers of sports, and is woven in the fabric and tradition of Evansville sports.
After reading that letter, my thought was that surely he helped create a foundation that Collins followed himself. Collins has probably developed as many doctors, lawyers and teachers as he has first basemen or catchers these kinds of lessons that Collins had stressed transcend sport, and last a lot longer than a Saturday double-header.
The art of coaching is not always measured in tactics, but in a coach or manager's ability to motivate, teach and communicate the ability to influence players in a positive manner. Proof of the impact that Larry Collins had was evident at his wake, seeing the crowd of friends and former players that he had impacted filling the room to pay their respects one last time. Clearly, Larry Collins had mastered the art of coaching.
As the legacy of Larry Collins is marked by players with nicknames and fond memories of their little league coach, hopefully these same core ideals that started with Arad McCutchan and was carried on through the teachings of Larry Collins will serve as a reminder to our youth sports community about what playing, coaching and parenting is really all about.
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