Cambria Giants’ coach emphasizes Little League learning

When Matt Saunders’ son Robert wanted to play Little League last spring, but his team didn’t have a coach, “Both my wife Julie and I jumped right in feet first so Robert could do what he wanted to do,” Matt said in a phone interview. “Honestly, this is not something I ever expected to do, but there was a need for a coach.”

So there he is, coaching the Cambria Giants, the youngest Little League Team (Triple-A Little League has kids age 7 to 11), “raking the field, chalking the lines,” and teaching boys how the game should be played.

Asked how coachable boys are at that age, Saunders quipped, “If you can get their minds off of (the online game) Minecraft for 5 minutes,” you can accomplish something.

“But honestly, if you can get them to understand the fundamentals across the board of pitching and hitting,” you’re succeeding, Saunders answered. “Some are out there because their parents want them to be. But a lot of them are there because they’re loving it and having fun, and they’re coachable.”

Since he’s been coaching the Giants, Saunders has emphasized that “we’re not here to win or lose; we’re here to learn and get better. They learn something new every game.”

Especially in their second year of playing for the Giants, they learn “how much of a difference defense can make,” Saunders continued. The Giants lost the first game of the season, 11-9, and Saunders told them that if they had gotten two more outs on defense early in the game, they might have been victorious.

“It’s starting to sink in,” Saunders explained.

The next home game (on the Leffingwell field) for the Cambria Giants is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 6. That game will give the coach a chance to see how deeply the fundaments have indeed sunk in for his young players.

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Cambria Giants’ coach emphasizes Little League learning."