Fast Pitch


Book Description

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a challenging and heartwarming coming-of-age story about a softball player looking to prove herself on and off the field. Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But life has thrown some curveballs her way. Strike one: As the sole team of all-brown faces, Shenice and the Firebirds have to work twice as hard to prove that Black girls belong at bat. Strike two: Shenice’s focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-ending—and family-name-ruining—crime may have been a setup. Strike three: Broken focus means mistakes on the field. And Shenice’s teammates are beginning to wonder if she’s captain-qualified. It's up to Shenice to discover the truth about her family’s past—and fast—before secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever.




Play Ball! the Story of Little League Baseball


Book Description

Bestselling History of Little League Baseball and the Little League Baseball World Series.




The Double-Goal Coach


Book Description

The Double-Goal Coach is filled with powerful coaching tools based on Jim Thompson's Positive Coaching Alliance. These strategies reflect the "best-practices" of elite coaches and the latest research in sports psychology.Hundreds of workshops have shaped these tools for maximum effectiveness and ease of use. The lessons and activities can be used in the very next practice to make sports fun and to get the best from players. The Double-Goal Coach provides the framework for coaches and parents to transform youth sports so sports can transform youth -- allowing young athletes to enjoy sports while learning valuable life lessons.




Anybody's Game


Book Description

The Best Children's Books of the Year 2019, Bank Street College In 1950, girls didn't play baseball––until Kathryn Johnston changed Little League. In 1950, Kathryn Johnston wanted to play Little League baseball, but an unwritten "rule" kept girls from trying out. So she cut off her hair and tried out as a boy under the nickname "Tubby." She made the team—and changed Little League forever. This is a story about wanting to do something so badly, you're willing to break the rules, and how breaking those rules can lead to change.




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.




Baseball World Series


Book Description

It's the biggest game of their lives--and only one can win Liam and Carter's teams are on the verge of winning the greatest championship of all: the Little League Baseball World Series. Cousins and best friends who grew up playing baseball together, Liam and Carter must now play against each other to achieve their dreams of winning the Series title! One cousin will win, and the other will lose.




Team Players


Book Description

Cassie must learn that you can’t “fix” someone else after a girl with Aspergers joins her softball team in the fourth and final book of the Home Team series from New York Times bestselling author and sports-writing legend Mike Lupica. Cassie Bennett is great at being in charge. She always knows what to do to lead her teams to victory, keep her many groups of friends together, or fix any problem that comes her way. So when Sarah Milligan, an autistic girl with unreal softball skills, joins Cassie’s team, Cassie’s sure she can help her fit in with the team. But before long it’s obvious that being around so many people is really hard for Sarah, and the more Cassie tries to reach out and involve her, the more Sarah pushes her away, sometimes literally. It doesn’t help that Cassie’s teammates aren’t as interested in helping Sarah as they are in making sure they make it to the new softball All-Star Tournament that’ll be televised just like the Little League World Series. Soon no one besides Cassie seems to even want Sarah on the team anymore, and the harder Cassie tries to bring everyone together, the worse things seem to get. Cassie Bennett never backs down from a challenge, but can she realize that maybe the challenge isn’t fixing a problem in someone else, but in herself? Or will her stubbornness lead her to lose more than just softball games?




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.




Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sport


Book Description

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sport delivers a comprehensive view of DEI issues in sport organizations. Readers will understand key areas that affect sport administration and will develop the skills to implement best practices and lead an equitable and diverse sport environment.




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.