Not that John Maxwell

I love to read books by John Maxwell.  At Willmar Electric we have done several group studies on John Maxwell's books.

Two weekends ago the Junior Legion baseball team I coach had a game here in Lincoln.  Prior to the game I went over to meet the umpires and introduce myself.  One of the umpires said his name was John Maxwell.

I said he had a famous name.

With a laugh he replied by pointing out "he wasn't that John Maxwell."

I said I was disappointed because "I was hoping to be inspired and motivated."

He just smiled and said he wasn't inspiring or motivating.  And we moved on to talking about how to execute a rundown and how the team he coached needed more practice.

Then the game got started and I forgot about John Maxwell.  Actually I started focusing on opportunities I missed and poor substitutions made by me.  John Maxwell did what every umpire wants do, he blended into the game and nobody noticed him. (Bad umpires tend to stand out.)

But in Legion baseball there is typically two games.  The junior team plays first, followed by the senior game.  I coach the juniors but not the seniors.  My son, Mike, plays for both.

On this fine Nebraska evening the senior team experienced a large number of injuries and by the 3rd inning they were in need of a new catcher.  Mike is new to catching and typically plays first base for the seniors but a this moment they called on him to catch. 

With a grand total of two innings behind the plate in his entire life Mike was playing catcher with a pitcher that threw the ball in the 70s and had a good curve ball.  And he did very well.  He looked like a real live catcher.  With me, the other coaches and parents giving as much support as we could from the dugout and stands.

On the ride home from the game Mike started talking about the umpire behind the plate.  He mentioned about a dozen things the umpire said to him during the game.  All of it was encouraging, none of it was what you would consider coaching.

The umpire didn't explain how to block a ball or throw to second.  He did shake Mike hand once when he made a good play.  Once after I hollered out "way to frame the pitch" the umpire told Mike the "old man don't know what he is talking about, it was a strike so I called it a strike."

Then it occurred to me that John Maxwell had gone from being the umpire in the field for the first game to behind the plate for the second game.  The same John Maxwell that had told "the old man" that he wasn't going to inspire or motivate anybody had in fact inspired and motivated the young catcher and help to give him the confidence that he could be a catcher.

The coaches had spent their spring trying to get that message to Mike.  John Maxwell got the message through in 2 hours.

Often in games like this umpires can take over the game and seem to almost want nobody to have any fun at all.  Often the parents and coaches are willing to join the umpire in going down that terrible path.  But in this case the umpire made the game fun for everybody involved.

Makes me wonder if I am doing the things it takes to make a difference in the lives of others through my day to day life.  I hope so.  I wish I knew how to thank John Maxwell.