Coaching Son

Like the other contributors, I don't know you or your son, his temperament, likes & dislikes. We all could be off base. My main reaction to your post has to do with the "#7 All-Star" comment.

As a coach, I try to be easy to please but hard/impossible to satisfy. I'm coaching pitching right now, and I find something good about every throw. I also am always pushing, always pointing out a better physical or mental angle or edge at every turn.

As a parent, though, my son wants to know that I'm satisfied. One player asked his grandfather, "Pop-pop, who's the best player on my team?" The grandfather answered that every boy has his own role, his own place, and the team wouldn't be the same without them all. Then he added, "But to me, you will always be the very best boy on your team."

That may sound too sweet, but that's a message our kids want and need to hear from us. Given your short post, it may be that your son needs to learn how to relate to you as a coach. Or it may be that he wants to hear from his father that, to you, he is the #1 player on his All-Star team.

Best to you.