Politics is full of tough choices, but coaching was an easy ‘yes’ I’ll miss

Since 2006, I’ve coached at least one of my three sons’ baseball teams each season. It feels like yesterday that I nervously walked onto a tiny baseball field at Sharon Springs Park in Forsyth County for the first time as a head coach for my oldest son Parker’s team, the Huskies.

Only a few years removed from my own baseball career, I was more than eager to teach a dugout full of 4-year-olds everything I knew about the complex game of baseball. It took me a few games, but I realized the quality of the postgame snack was more important to the kids than the final score.

I chalked that one up to a rookie coaching mistake.

Eventually, all three of our boys would end up playing on a travel baseball team in one form or fashion. For any parent of a kid in a travel sport, you are well aware of the all-consuming nature. Huge sums of money, large blocks of time and muted vacation schedules are all part of the protocol of playing a travel sport these days.

Also, I’m sure I have a few former business partners and political advisers that didn’t love the fact that a majority of my nights and weekends were spoken for. Although travel baseball was not a perfect fit for our family, it always seemed to be a good fit year after year.

In addition, some of our family’s best memories happened on a baseball field while our boys were playing travel baseball.

Credit: (courtesy of Geoff Duncan)

Credit: (courtesy of Geoff Duncan)

I’ll never forget sitting on a 5-gallon bucket outside a dugout in Cooperstown, New York, signaling in pitches to my then-12-year-old son, Parker, while he carved up the other team on the pitching mound. Hard to forget sleeping on the top bunk in the nonair-conditioned barracks with the rest of the team on that trip, too.

Another vivid memory was watching our middle son, Bayler, who now plays football for Georgia Tech, go 13-for-14 with six home runs over a three-day stretch during a Mother’s Day weekend tournament in 2018.

The Mother’s Day picture he took with my wife after winning the tournament, holding all six home run balls and a red rose for her, was priceless.

Without a doubt, our family’s favorite baseball memory came out of nowhere one night last summer in Jasper.

Ryder, much like me, has earned a stronger reputation as a pitcher than a hitter over the years. To make matters worse that memorable night, he was deeply immersed in a seasonlong batting slump at the time.

He casually walked up to home plate and proceeded to hit one of the most majestic home runs we’ve ever seen hit. It literally looked like the ball disappeared into the dark sky as it was sailing over the outfield fence for his first-ever home run.

Credit: Geoff Duncan

Credit: Geoff Duncan

When he crossed home plate after trotting around the bases, both parents and players were in an uproar, and everyone was hugging and high-fiving. I cannot confirm or deny that both of his parents might have had tears in their eyes.

That was a good night!

Throughout my professional baseball career, I never gave much thought to eventually coaching one day, even for my own kids. Like most athletes, I couldn’t see past the trials and tribulations of my own playing career at the time.

I’m glad I eventually came around to the idea because it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Not only did I get to spend countless extra hours with each of my three sons, but I also got to hand down my tiny sliver of baseball knowledge to the next generation.

My three biggest takeaways from my coaching days: The best pitch in baseball will always be Strike 1. When in doubt on the mound, aim for the middle and hope you hit a corner. If you’re a parent and not sure if you should sign up to coach, do it.

It’s been a good ride.

Geoff Duncan, a contributing columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, served as Georgia’s lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2023. He is a former professional baseball player and the author of “GOP 2.0: How the 2020 Election Can Lead to a Better Way Forward for America’s Conservative Party.” He is also a contributor to CNN.