Pros Versus Joes (Amateurs)

The terms “professional” and “amateur” has been used to demonstrate a level of quality for some time now. We have come to assume that if somebody is good enough to get paid for something then he must be good. And for a long time it was a heavy blow if somebody said, “He’s such an amateur.” In reality, getting paid or not has no intrinsic bearing on quality.

I had one of my teams at a tournament a couple of weeks ago. As usually happens, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a variety of coaches. In fact, I have long since lost count of the number of coaches I have had had conversations with (good, bad or in between). One of the great things about coaching youth sports is the opportunity to meet new people and hear different ideas.

At this particular tournament, I met a coach who is fortunate enough to actually earn a living from running youth baseball teams. In my short time with him, he struck me as a great guy, earnest in his work, and caring toward his players. I’m convinced he earns every penny of his paycheck.

As we talked, Coach lamented how difficult it has been lately in our area to attract and maintain players because “there are all these dads that get pissed off at me and think they can run their own teams.”

Both of my boys have played for professional coaches. Some of those experiences have been great and others have been acceptable. I have never pulled my kid from a professional coach because I was disappointed with the coaching. Or, more to the point, I’ve never pulled my kid from a team because I was angry with a professional coach. Dissatisfaction with a specific coach was never a reason for me to start coaching.

I started coaching youth baseball because I watched dozens of coaches over the course of six years before I became convinced that I couldn’t do any worse. When I saw coaches who were bad, they were really bad. When I saw coaches who were good, they were really good … but no better that I felt I could be. And pay (or lack thereof) made no difference in the assessment.

I watched Coach pretty closely when we played our game against him. I liked his demeanor. I liked his field presence. I liked the way he handled his players. During the three hours he and I shared the same field, he gave me every indication that he was a good coach. And he’s a pro.

I, on the other hand, am an amateur. I do not get paid. In fact, I lose money because of my involvement in this sport. I am an anti-pro. I am less than amateur.

But I do a pretty good job.

Before amateurs lost respect in our lexicon, they were revered. At least in terms of athletics. The amateur athlete was considered the pure athlete. Even the act of hiring a coach was unthinkable to a pure, amateur athlete. And, of course, that was an overly simplistic view.

Pay doesn’t matter. Quality matters. Pay may or may not follow quality, but quality always comes first.