The Matheny Manifesto

Today's blog was written by Ryan Watt. Ryan is a senior at Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching, an undergraduate course taught by Play Like a Champion Founder Professor Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan. 

Recently in my Foundations of Coaching class here at the University of Notre Dame, I was presented with a letter that former major league catcher and current St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny once wrote to the parents of his son's little league baseball team.  It has since come to be known as the Matheny Manifesto. This letter struck me as one of the finest explanations of both a coaching philosophy and the role parents should play youth sports.

In terms of philosophy, Matheny outlines 3 main goals for his baseball team's season:

1. To teach these young men how to play the game of baseball the right way
2. To be a positive impact on them as young men
3. To do all of this with class

You would be hard-pressed to find more valuable goals than these three for a coach, especially at the youth level.  It was quite refreshing to see that no mention of winning or team performance was mentioned within these goals.  In recent years, youth sports have all but become consumed with a 'winning is everything' attitude even at the lowest levels of competition.  It was nice to see that Matheny was instead focusing on growth and development, which is the true value of youth sports.  Coming from a man that has played, coached, and succeeded at the highest levels of his sports this was an especially powerful message.

Matheny really encapsulates his message when he says, "We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents in every game we play."  This is the same message by which Matheny was coached during his youth baseball career. Matheny drives home the value of this approach when he runs down the success of his own childhood team.  Nearly the entire team went on to play collegiate baseball and Matheny along with 3 others reached the professional level.  He (wisely) does not promise this same future success for his own players, but he stresses that classy play does lay the foundation for success. 

In terms of the role of parents, Matheny calls on them to act as a "silent, constant, source of support."  This is an incredibly powerful message in this age of "helicopter parenting" and epidemic levels of overzealous sports parents.  I think we've all experienced at some point the parent coaching from the stands. This constantly shouting of tips and directions or demands for their kids to perform does no one any good.  Matheny encourages this silence because he doesn't feel that any additional pressure should be put on these young athletes.  They will face enough pressure from him and the coaching staff getting them to play the game the right way with class, and respect.  He points out that the athletes also frequently put too much pressure on themselves and each other to perform already.  Matheny wants his players to have an opportunity to develop a love for the game rather than be overwhelmed and pushed away by excessive pressure.

What Matheny does want parents involved in is the continued improvement of his players when they are away from practice and games.  He stresses the importance of repetition in skills such as pitching, hitting, and fielding.  It is important for parents to realize that coaches only have a limited time where they can work with each player.  It's up to parents to facilitate their further growth by taking some time to play with their kids.  It's through this off-field time that parents can shine rather than trying to take over the time that the coaches do have with the players.

Overall, this letter presents an excellent jumping off point for coaches looking to both establish a positive development based philosophy and address the growing issue of parental interference in youth sports.  I think all youth coaches would do well to consider the message Matheny has brought to the table, I know I will as I continue my work in athletics as a coach.