This week's weplay Coach of the Week honors another one of our first members, a coach who has been an active voice in the weplay community since the beginning.

Coach Rob McAfee of the Conejo Valley Little League (California) is not only a positive mentor and role model for his own children, but also for the hundreds of young baseball players in Thousand Oaks, a northwest suburb of Los Angeles as well.

http://www.weplay.com/users/RobMcAfee

Of course, being a good coach helps, too. Back in 2004, McAfee coached the Conejo Valley Little League (CVLL) all the way to the Little League World Series, where his team was the United States Champions, but ultimately fell to the international team from Willemstad, Curaçao, in the final game.

"It is an honor to be weplay's Coach of the Week," McAfee told us via email. "More importantly, I challenge everyone involved in youth sports to respect the responsibility they have to the kids to teach the fundamentals - good sportsmanship and teamwork while making it fun. It is everyone's responsibility to set that environment, and it's a big responsibility, a responsibility you should take very seriously.

As a father of four, Coach McAfee's two boys both played Little League Baseball and his two girls played softball. He, himself, has been involved with youth sports for nearly 30 years, including 15 years as a Little League umpire. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the CVLL and is in his sixth year as President of the Little League.

"Always keep in mind whether you win or lose that your opponent is not really the other team but an extension of your Little League Baseball Community," he wrote in his annual message to the league before the start of the season. "What I would like to see is everybody smiling on the baseball field. It is the greatest game. It is always the better person that can get through a tough situation walking away with a smile on their face, than the person who wishes to apologize to everyone the next day for acting or saying something inappropriate."

But Rob isn't just the President. He was also a member. Rob played in the Conejo Valley Little League as a child, born and raised in the same town he calls home today. And while he no longer works as an umpire, Rob's weplay group, "Behind the Dish," is dedicated to those in the baseball community who spend their time crouching at home plate, the catchers and umpires.

http://www.weplay.com/groups/192-Behind-the-Dish

In addition to having fun and talking baseball, Coach McAfee also hopes to give back to the community. He has just created the "Strike Out Lou Gehrigs Disease" weplay group, reaching out across a new platform to increase awareness for a cause that is so important to his community.?

?If you'd like to nominate your coach and tell us why he or she should be coach of the week, send us an email at nominate@weplay.com.