ON THE TOWN:Joeless coaches will miss out

This is the story of three kids who live in Costa Mesa. They don’t know each other, but they all met on the Little League baseball diamond a few years ago.

Two of them are excellent athletes, particularly in baseball, but they probably would not recognize each other if they passed on the street.

One of these two was a left-handed pitcher — a good one, too — and could play just about any defensive position in which he was placed. Perhaps most important, this kid had a great work ethic and a great attitude.

The other was a right-handed pitcher who threw hard and threw accurately. At the age of 11, he was throwing over 50 mph and could spot the ball most of the time.

I coached the right-hander. There were times when he entered the late innings of a game and I would sit down in the dugout and watch the show as he struck out batter after batter. Oh, sure, kids occasionally got hits off of him.

He told me one time that he purposely got behind 3-0 (three balls and no strikes) so he could throw three straight strikes and retire the batter.

The lefty is out of organized sports and has found his athletic love in the waves in our local waters. He’s a surfer.

The righty is also out of baseball completely, having switched to football about a year ago.

Changing sports is not unusual for 14-year-old kids. That’s not the issue. What these two baseball stars have in common is that they got burned out on the sport. Ask each of them and the main reason they’ll give you for their disinterest was their coaches — people who, in short, took the fun out of playing the game.

The reality for me is that I could very well have had something to do with the right-hander’s decision.

My coaching philosophy was a good fit for most players but not for some parents. I made the point of telling parents early on that each kid paid the same amount of money and as long as they came to the practices and games, each kid would play an equal amount.

That strategy cost us some ball games, but I did not always have winning in mind.

My goal each year was to get 100% of my team to register for Little League the following season. If they did, I knew that I had done my job well.

I adore baseball and hoped that this passion would transfer to the players, who would understand that what some people see as a slow sport is actually a deliberate sport; a sport similar to chess, except that the pieces are human beings.

Even though the right-hander’s mom has told us that I was a great coach, I still have to accept some responsibility for his decision.

As for the lefty, well, all I know is that the “Just win, baby!” concept cost us a really good baseball player.

Then there’s the third kid, whom I will call Joe. It’s not his real name.

Joe was not a very good baseball player. I coached Joe and can speak from firsthand experience.

But Joe had something that a lot of players did not have, something that is an essential component not just to winning baseball games, but also to becoming successful at anything.

Joe has heart.

I found out recently that Joe is playing baseball at a high school here in Newport-Mesa. And of all the kids I’ve coached, many of whose names I see in the Daily Pilot from time to time, I have never been happier for the success of any of them as I am with Joe.

Joe probably won’t be a pro and probably won’t get a college scholarship, but I have to believe he is having fun.

So while I may have had a hand in losing the right-handed pitcher, I may have made up for it with Joe.

All of this is a long-winded plea to the Little League coaches whose seasons are starting right about now. Winning is important, but if winning is everything, you’ll miss the joy of just coaching kids.

Your payoff for focusing on coaching and not winning is hearing about your Joe a few years later.