Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way


Book Description

Coaching young players, developing their skills, and cultivating a love for the sport may be the most rewarding experience baseball can offer. Cal and Bill Ripken understand this like few others. From their father, Cal Sr., a legend in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 37 years, they learned to play the game the right way. Those lessons, paired with their combined 33 years of big league experience, helped develop the Ripken Way, a method of teaching the game through simple instruction, solid explanations, encouragement, and a positive atmosphere. In Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way, Cal and Bill share this approach to coaching and development. Whether you're teaching your children at home, managing the local travel team, or working with high school-level players, Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way will help you make a difference both on and off the field, with these features: More than 50 drills covering defense, hitting, pitching, and baserunning Age-specific practice plans for players ranging from 4 to 15+ Strategies for setting goals and reasonable expectations for your players and team Advice on communicating with parents, players, and staff Methods for creating a positive and fun environment in which kids can learn the skills and strategies of the game Bill Ripken was once voted by his peers as one of the big league players most likely to become a manager. Cal Ripken, Jr., known as baseball's Iron Man, is a member of the game's All-Century Team and a future Hall of Famer. Together, they are proof positive that the Ripken Way is the right way to teach the game of baseball.




Hitting with Torque


Book Description

Paul Petricca draws on his experience as a coach, player, blogger, and student of baseball and softball to share what hes learned about hitting in this essential guide for players seeking dramatic results at the plate. The author presents easy to understand hitting mechanics highlighting how the engineering concept of torque can be applied to hitting and is often the difference between a weak groundball or a long home run. Topics covered include understanding where hitting power really comes from and the importance of increasing bat speed through the fundamentals of a repeatable and powerful rotational swing. Hitters of all ages who adopt his eight hitting keys will enjoy a dramatic increase in bat speed and power almost immediately. Hitting with Torque is more than a set of hitting mechanics---its a mindset. Readers will be challenged to look past the worn-out hitting theories and myths that have been holding back hitters from reaching their full potential. With an open mind and practice, all hitters can unlock the power and consistency that is Hitting with Torque.




The Matheny Manifesto


Book Description

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny's New York Times bestselling manifesto about what parents, coaches, and athletes get wrong about sports; what we can do better; and how sports can teach eight keys to success in sports and life. Mike Matheny was just forty-one, without professional managerial experience and looking for a next step after a successful career as a Major League catcher, when he succeeded the legendary Tony La Russa as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012. While Matheny has enjoyed immediate success, leading the Cards to the postseason four times in his first four years−a Major League record−people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results. Instead, it’s based on a frankly worded letter he wrote to the parents of a Little League team he coached, a cry for change that became an Internet sensation and eventually a “manifesto.” The tough-love philosophy Matheny expressed in the letter contained his throwback beliefs that authority should be respected, discipline and hard work rewarded, spiritual faith cultivated, family made a priority, and humility considered a virtue. In The Matheny Manifesto, he builds on his original letter by first diagnosing the problem at the heart of youth sports−it starts with parents and coaches−and then by offering a hopeful path forward. Along the way, he uses stories from his small-town childhood as well as his career as a player, coach, and manager to explore eight keys to success: leadership, confidence, teamwork, faith, class, character, toughness, and humility. From “The Coach Is Always Right, Even When He’s Wrong” to “Let Your Catcher Call the Game,” Matheny’s old-school advice might not always be popular or politically correct, but it works. His entertaining and deeply inspirational book will not only resonate with parents, coaches, and athletes, it will also be a powerful reminder, from one of the most successful new managers in the game, of what sports can teach us all about winning on the field and in life.




Jeff Burroughs' Little League Instructional Guide


Book Description

As millions of Little League fans around the world know, Jeff Burroughs is coach of the two-time Little League world champions, the Long Beach All-Stars. In Jeff Burroughs' Little League Instructional Guide, he shares with other coaches and parents the lessons he has learned in the big and little leagues, on the field, on the bench, and in the dugout.




Lost in the Ivy


Book Description

Reporter Charley Hubbs has left almost everything of his former life behindaeven part of his memory. Now Charley has the story that any reporter would kill for. Problem is, he might have done just thataand his name has moved from the bylines to the headlines. As the dead bodies pile up around him, Charley sets out to prove to himself that heas not the homicidal maniac the press has made him out to be. Enlisting the aid of seductive, whip-smart bartender Elizabeth aLizzya Zapler, he makes a daring courthouse escape. From that point on, itas a race against time for the truth. Along the way, Charley discovers that he can run, but not hide, from his past. Against the backdrop of Chicagoas storied Wrigley Field, a baseball shrine cursed by a billy goat, Charley is caught in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse that plays out in two seasonsaone of futility and the other of hope. Only by unlocking the mysteries of his past and opening his heart again will he be able to find if hope truly does spring eternal.




Baseball: Teach Your Kid to Hit...So They Don't Quit!


Book Description

Kevin Gallagher has written a book that provides a process to parents and coaches on how to teach children to hit a baseball or a softball. It is a process that will dramatically increase the chances of any child to make contact with the ball.Hitting a baseball is hard and very few people know how to teach children or young adults how to hit.Throwing batting practice to a child is not teaching them to hit.This book is designed to convince the vast audience of Parents that they, regardless of their background, can teach their child to make contact with a baseball/softball, by providing a simple process that will make sense to them and their child.If we don't teach our kids to hit, they will get frustrated and quit.The book is an easy read and is a story of the state of Baseball today, and takes us on a journey on how the length of Major League games, the late hour finishes, the Launch Angle Swing and the infatuation of the Home Run, as well as the amount of non-action during games, has all contributed to the games declining popularity in America and the disappearing participation of America's youth. It is a story full of anecdotes, quotes and eye popping statistics that makes the book enjoyable, but always leading to the inevitable conclusion that making contact with the baseball is the only way you will keep a child involved in the game?? and ultimately create more action inside the game.At the books conclusion, Kevin lays out a simple 8 Step Process to make contact with the ball.It is a process for the parent to learn, understand, and own. Then, and only then, the parent will have the knowledge and confidence to teach their child.In addition to the written process, and numerous entertaining illustrations, there are links to a 24 minute instructional video broken down step-by-step to help you visualize what is being taught.




Changing the Game


Book Description

The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.




Coaching Baseball For Dummies


Book Description

If you are a baseball fan, then coaching youth baseball is one the most enjoyable and rewarding activities you’ll experience. But what if you’ve never coached before? Or you haven’t played the game in a while and have forgot some key points to the sport? No worries! Coaching Baseball for Dummies guides you through the rules of the game, explaining all the essential skills and the best ways to teach them to your players. Covering different age groups and great practice routines, this guide is all you need to have a fun-filled season. You’ll discover how to: Fulfill the role of being a coach and parent Develop a coaching philosophy Understand how your league works Evaluate your team Teach your players fundamentals Understand all kinds of children Create your practice plan Prepare for game day Overcome challenges and problems This plain-English guide also shows you how to run all kinds of drills, from hitting and pitching to fielding and base running. And when your team is tense or low on morale, it shows you how to relax your players and keep them focused on the game. There are also suggestions for making your season, and theirs, a memorable one. Coaching Baseball for Dummies shows you how much fun it can be to train kids to be athletes, have good sportsmanship, and work together as a team.




Clean Your Cleats


Book Description

What Does it Take to Have a Great Baseball Career? You daydream about one day seeing your face on a baseball card. You live for pressure and the green grass beneath your cleats. But as your career progresses, the game gets harder. You slump and struggle. You get injured and overlooked. Your confidence plummets. Can you keep improving? Are your big dreams still within reach? A Handbook for the Dedicated Player Clean Your Cleats is filled with stories and advice learned the hard way, over a long career on the diamond. Develop better routines and improve your consistency. Handle the ups and downs with confidence and resolve. Strengthen relationships with teammates, parents and coaches. Learn mindset strategies to become the best version of you. Dan Blewett, in this practical guide, helps players understand all the little things in baseball that make a huge difference over a long career. Why clean your cleats? Because every detail matters.




Youth Baseball Coaching


Book Description

In this guide for youth baseball coaches, experienced coach John T. Reed demonstrates how he has achieved extraordinary results by focusing on players' innate skills in areas such as base running, waiting for a good pitch, and fielding.