I mean, they're so young, but how do you keep their mind right so that they can go out there and stop putting this pressure on themselves and just have fun and enjoy the game because that's when they play so much better?

Well, I think it's parent-driven and coach-driven.

And I did a post last year, and I just posed the question, why do you get anxious at your kids' games? My mom combed through thousands of comments, and she's like, James, I think there's like 95% that they don't want to see their kid fail.

And I get that.

That is an empathetic parent who doesn't want to see their kid cry.

Here comes the but.

But...

And I'm like, would you stop talking to him while he's up to bat? What is the proper way to cheer your kid on that's most beneficial?

And so the question for you, Jim, is what can that experience teach us about recognizing the next PED? emerging pathogen affecting the industry here.

Well, it's maybe the other really good example we've got is this H5N1 and dairy cows, right? It was the same thing.

We were submitting samples.

I know it's a list of different species, but we submitted samples, submitted samples, and our cattle colleagues were doing it and kept saying it was mastitis.

And finally, we took this PED experience, right, and said, oh, what if it's something else and looked for something else? Yeah.

And then it occurred a couple of spots, right, including your shop.

And I think the ticket is, right, if we understand baselines and we say what's here, that gives us the next spot to say, hey, this doesn't really match what we're seeing.

Yeah, I think

That's good coaching.

Right.

Well, I started out as a rookie coach that way.

I thought the only way I'm going to get this kid to do what I want is if I raise my voice, if I yell.

But I've found because of great mentors, a much better path is to do it quietly and privately.

The parent that thinks you need to publicly shame and yell to otherwise you're soft, it's just not common sense.

There is this world that people live in of either or.

So what's the pattern that you're seeing? And then walk me through the dad who's actually hurting his son without knowing it.

What does that look like day to day with younger kids? And how can a typical volunteer coach put that into practice in a finite amount of time?

Yeah, well, I'll say this first.

I didn't start out that way.

I had mentors along the way that showed me that life coach first is a better path.

I used to hit ground balls to kids as a rookie coach.

And if they weren't doing what I asked or they didn't look interested, I kind of shunned them out or said, oh, well, you... get out of here you know what are you doing here if you don't want to be here luckily i had a mentor put his arm around me and say hey i love your energy you have the energy of 50 men but that kid hates baseball now because of the way you were talking to him and he introduced me to fishing you got to go fishing for these kids they're not all the eight-year-old version of you And I was obsessed with baseball.

You didn't have to talk me into anything.

What are some things you do with those kids that

And I'm like, why on earth would you move from Texas to northeastern Pennsylvania? Like,

why? Being completely honest and a little bit of my background, Jersey, I love and miss those who I used to be friends with.

Where in New Jersey, if you don't mind saying? Newark.

Oh, okay.

Wouldn't recommend you going there if you're not used to, like, a fast-paced and potentially dangerous setting.

That's the reason why I left, is because, you know, as growing up, the gang started getting, you know, basically, if you're not with us, then you're against us.

And, you know, when I didn't join as followed, some repercussions happened, and, you know, it eventually came down to the point where it's like, well... we want to like kill you essentially.

We have people that try to be Detroit hard out in the burbs.

Like I wanted to like it drastically alters the gameplay and like what you're encountering, you know, combat arena to combat arena based on what difficulty you're on.

I like games that kind of punish you.

Um, for example, if you've played Metal Gear Solid 3, um, for those of the viewers who may or may not have, uh, there's a particular boss named the sorrow.

And if you run and gun your way through the game and just, Hey, I'm going to kill everything.

It's going to come back to bite you with a butt because that particular villain, um, you have to walk through a swamp of literally everything you've killed.

Yeah.

Up

James, did you have any questions, comments, anything like that?

[laughs]

'Cause the parents are wild, dude, and that's why there's signs at the Little League here in LA too, "Hey, parents, the kids are watching." Like, parents need to remember that sometimes.

Exactly.

Well, I mean, it, it should've started before the first practice where you have a barbecue and you get to know all these parents, and you build trust with all these parents.

I always say bring a kickball, uh, and let the kids entertain themselves.

That way you can get to know all these parents, build trust, and then you can lay out your expectations for the year.

We're gonna inject maturity.

I'm a Mets fan, but you got to appreciate the captain's message here.

[laughs]

'Cause the parents are wild, dude, and that's why there's signs at the Little League here in LA too, "Hey, parents, the kids are watching." Like, parents need to remember that sometimes.

Exactly.

Well, I mean, it, it should've started before the first practice where you have a barbecue and you get to know all these parents and you build trust with all these parents.

I always say bring a kickball, uh, and let the kids entertain themselves, that way you can get to know all these parents, build trust, and then you can lay out your expectations for the year.

We're gonna inject maturity.

These kids are gonna play better when they're feeling freedom and joy, not when we are hanging on the fence.

Nice.

[laughs]

...

but, B, with a drum.

I brought my, uh, djembe drum, and these...

Uh, there was drum circles all over the place four hours before the game, and these Dominican fans, they invited me in.

They said, "Hey, come on in.

Let's play." So there's just a joy, there's a celebration.

I'm a Mets fan, but you got to appreciate the captain's message here.

'Cause the parents are wild, dude, and that's why there's signs at the Little League here in LA too, "Hey, parents, the kids are watching." Like, parents need to remember that sometimes.

Exactly.

Well, I mean, it, it should've started before the first practice where you have a barbecue and you get to know all these parents and you build trust with all these parents.

I always say bring a kickball, uh, and let the kids entertain themselves, that way you can get to know all these parents, build trust, and then you can lay out your expectations for the year.

We're gonna inject maturity.

These kids are gonna play better when they're feeling freedom and joy, not when we are hanging on the fence.

Um, but that type of parent might, even after you say that or lay out those expectations, they're still gonna do it throughout the season.

I'm a Mets fan, but you got to appreciate the captain's message here.

As a coach and a parent, how do you handle that?

that?Yeah.

Uh, I think, uh, as...

Well, let's start with the parent.

You have to make sure that your joy as a mom or dad is detached from their results.

You need to be their champion and th- they can't be afraid of failure.

They can't be afraid of striking out five times.

It seems like a lot more complex than it used to be.