That was the title of a letter to the editor in today's Evansville Courier Press, which was written by Mark "WK" Murty in reference to Larry Collins. Collins is an institution in youth baseball here in Evansville, and just recently had the Eastside Little League fields named in his honor.
Below is the letter than Murty wrote, and speaks volumes about what coaching is really about.
I played for Larry Collins from 1987 to 1990. Next to my stepfather, he was the most influential man in my life as a child. I learned just as much about life as I did about baseball.
He was a coach who taught the fundamentals of the game by any means necessary. He once had our team field group balls without gloves to show us the importance of using two hands.
Not only was he my coach, he was also a family friend. I remember him stopping by several times a week just to see how we were doing. As an 11 year old, my family couldn't afford to send me to Jim Brownlee's baseball camp. Mr. Collins showed up at the house one day and told my mother that if she could get me there, I'd be on the roster. To this day I'm not exactly sure how I ended up at that camp.
Wins were great, but meaningless if each and every player didn't learn something about themselves and the game. Mr. Collins genuinely cares for his players, not just statistics. he kept it simple: a swipe across the chest was the bunt sign, a not-so-hidden head nod was the steal sign.
Every kid who plays for Mr. Collins knows how lucky they are to be on the field with him. Thank you, Mr. Collins, not only for teaching me the game I love but also for making me the man I am today.
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