Collective Coaching Wisdom for Youth Baseball : Ideas and Inspiration from America's Community Coaches to You (Hometown Heroes Books)

Rating:
Summary: Wisdom Worth Reading
Review: At my youth baseball team's end of season party, Janice Sibley, whose son Chris was on my team, presented me with a copy of this fine book. I was quite surprised that one of the parents on my team was the co-author of a book on coaching! I was glad she waited until the season was over to let me know, because it would have me nervous.

The first part of the book is about the power of positive coaching. As a youth baseball coach myself, I know that games can sometimes get tense and that negative words and actions from coaches and parents can and do slip out. None of us are perfect, but in the end kids (and adults) respond much better to positive re-enforcement than to negative. The book relies on the experiences of many successful "hometown hero" coaches from across the country, who tell us how they keep the game fun, positive, and low-stress for the kids, the parents, and themselves.

The second part of the book contains the favorite drills of the many "hometown hero" coaches. It is not a comprehensive set of drills, just a collection of some standard and some unique drills that you may want to add to your coaching repertoire. I especially liked the one about "water balloon hitting"; it may not teach your kids how to hit, but it will be the drill they (and you) have the most fun with!

The last part of the book relates some memorable personal moments from the "hometown hero" coaches. If you're a coach, these stories will touch you because, ultimately, the reward of coaching is in knowing that you have touched the life of a child in some small but positive way.

Rating:
Summary: Wisdom Worth Reading
Review: At my youth baseball team's end of season party, Janice Sibley, whose son Chris was on my team, presented me with a copy of this fine book. I was quite surprised that one of the parents on my team was the co-author of a book on coaching! I was glad she waited until the season was over to let me know, because it would have me nervous.

The first part of the book is about the power of positive coaching. As a youth baseball coach myself, I know that games can sometimes get tense and that negative words and actions from coaches and parents can and do slip out. None of us are perfect, but in the end kids (and adults) respond much better to positive re-enforcement than to negative. The book relies on the experiences of many successful "hometown hero" coaches from across the country, who tell us how they keep the game fun, positive, and low-stress for the kids, the parents, and themselves.

The second part of the book contains the favorite drills of the many "hometown hero" coaches. It is not a comprehensive set of drills, just a collection of some standard and some unique drills that you may want to add to your coaching repertoire. I especially liked the one about "water balloon hitting"; it may not teach your kids how to hit, but it will be the drill they (and you) have the most fun with!

The last part of the book relates some memorable personal moments from the "hometown hero" coaches. If you're a coach, these stories will touch you because, ultimately, the reward of coaching is in knowing that you have touched the life of a child in some small but positive way.