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Published 10/16/03 in The Post-Star newspaper Helping kids keep perspective COMMENTARY STACEY MORRIS Ray Geisel watched his television screen in shock Saturday afternoon as Don Zimmer rolled across the Astroturf of Fenway Park. The 72-year-old Zimmer's tumble at the hands of Pedro Martinez was the ugly denouement of a heated altercation between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox during game three of the American League Championship Series. "I thought the whole thing was sad," said Geisel, whose 8-year-old son Greg was beside him, witnessing every explosive confrontation that unfolded that day. Geisel recalled grappling for the words that could explain such inexcusable behavior to his son ... then he realized a more difficult task would soon be upon him -- explaining the bad behavior of adults to his son's Little League team the next day. This year is Geisel's fourth year coaching Little League in Saratoga County. Part of his policy has always been to lay the careful groundwork of sportsmanship and fair play -- and to underscore his philosophy that a win is not necessarily determined by a score. "You tell them to respect the other team and they in turn will respect you," he said. "Without the other team, there's no game. You need the other team to have fun together and learn baseball." The day after Fenway-Gate, as the Little League team was out on the field throwing warm-up drills, Geisel overheard two of the boys talking about Saturday's incident, followed by two more, until half of the 8-year-olds were absorbed in a discussion. "I was uncomfortable with the tone because they seemed awed by it, like it was cool," he said. "One of the kids smiled as he talked about Zimmer hitting the ground." For Geisel, the discussion was nothing less than a four-alarm warning. "I explained to them that both Zimmer and Martinez are probably extremely sad over what happened, that both are good guys and both love baseball. I told the boys that what happened Saturday is not good for baseball." Geisel knows the importance of every word, every attitude he imparts to the group of 11 8-year-olds he coaches. He also knows the perils of pressure put on them by frothing parents known to crowd against the fences during games, analyzing the young players' every move and screaming out instructions until they go hoarse. So Geisel decided early on to put things in perspective with a little tool he invented called The Triangle. "At the top is 'Fun,' the other side is 'Teamwork' and the third leg of the triangle is 'Focus.' It became our motto." In other words, if their final score is 5 to 2 and they don't have fun, it's not a victory. Or if the game ends with a 2-6 score but all three of the triangle's elements were in place, they won. Geisel even had each team member spend part of a practice stretched out on the grass, sketching his own triangle to take home and hang on the refrigerator. "Parents loved it; we got a lot of positive feedback and letters saying their kids had a great experience because of The Triangle. None of us realized how intense some of the games would be; these are young kids and they maintained their composure through all of it." Despite the recent Major League fallout, he emphasizes there are role models in the world of professional baseball -- but wishes there were more. Another of Geisel's favorite coaching tools is a recent issue of ESPN magazine that features a smiling Alfonso Soriano along with the quote that the baseball player tends to wear that smile whether he gets a hit or strikes out. "Derek Jeter's a role model for teamwork," said Geisel. "He's the first guy out of the dugout to high-five a player when there's a home run." "I tell them to give me that Soriano smile." The team's season came to a close Sunday. "The team ended with a very good game. Saturday they were tired but Sunday they remained focused and had lots of hits. They were energized and showed a lot of teamwork." As it turned out, the other team had a higher score. But for Geisel, it was a sweet ending to a season full of victories. |