Whether you're an experienced coach or a parent eager to help your child get the best experiences with a newly-formed team, you'll get everything you need from Ron Filipkowski's "Travelball: How to Start and Manage a Successful Travel Baseball Team." Filipkowski, named the 2010 13-U Coach of the Year by Travelball Select, brings more than a decade of personal expertise to this comprehensive handbook. He not only knows what it takes to keep a group of kids moving ahead toward top-level tournament goals-- he also shares amazing insights into the psychology of motivation and team management. Along the way, Ron Filipkowski shares unabashedly personal stories of his many experiences as the coach of a championship team. Some of his tales will have you splitting your sides with laughter; others will simply melt your heart. But throughout the book the author repeatedly makes one thing clear: if your team is going to be a consistent success on the baseball field, then you have to be at the top of your game when your players are off the field, too. While some travelball coaches may find themselves severely challenged by the competing needs of young players, demanding parents, petty rivalries, scheduling conflicts, hotel logistics, unethical competition, and all the other wild and unpredictable factors that go into the potentially overwhelming world of high-level travelball competition, Ron Filipkowski makes it all seem easy. Although "Travelball" features a massive amount of practical, hands-on information that will help you coach your team to peak levels of performance, this book doesn't stop there. Ron Filipkowski also takes you off the playing field, out of the dugout, past the locker room, and into the hearts and minds of anxious parents, overbearing tournament officials, and the umpires who never seem to get the respect they deserve. This is the real world of competing egos, unintentional goof-ups, and big-league stupidity that can make even veteran coaches pull their hair out-- and Filipkowski not only captures it elegantly in print; he also tells you exactly how to survive in this super-charged culture of crazy little things that all somehow make a big difference! If you're serious about being all the coach you can be, get this book and read every word. Then read it a second time, and keep a copy with you every time you get ready for a practice or head out for a tournament. And if you really want your team to succeed, make sure all your assistant coaches have their own copies, too! Here's just some of what you'll find in the exciting pages of "Travelball: How to Start and Manage a Successsful Travel Baseball Team" * Dealing with parents that are unhappy with playing time or positions. * How to handle and approach youth umpires to get them on your side. * Crazy little strategy tips that make a huge difference in travelball tournaments. * Why you should consistently treat each player different. * Creative offensive and defensive plays. * Recruiting new players from rec ball leagues and other travelball teams. * Tournament and game strategies adapted for travelball rules and formats. * Why doing things by "The Book" doesn't always work in the youth game. * Keeping other coaches from recruiting your players. * Managing playing time in tournaments to keep everyone happy while winning. * How to make travelball coexist with rec ball, school ball and other sports. * Baseball-specific strength, speed & conditioning exercises tailored for youth players. * Why home runs are evil in the youth game. * Curveballs and kids. * Why Bill Walsh-style practices are best for young players. * How to keep your team together over several seasons. * Teaching plate discipline and the mental approach at the plate. * The ethics of sign-stealing. * Why you should remove the word "umpire" from your team vocabulary. * Dealing with difficult parents of outstanding players. * Hosting tournaments as fundraisers. * And much, mu

You volunteered to coach the local baseball team, but are you ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices, and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Baseball has the answers. In Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Baseball, longtime coach Dan Keller shares his experiences and provides advice you can rely on from the first practice to the final game. From evaluating players’ skills and establishing realistic goals to using in-game coaching tips, it’s all here—the drills, the strategies, and most important, the fun! Develop your team’s fielding, catching, throwing, pitching, and hitting skills with the Survival Guide’s collection of the game’s best youth drills that young players can actually use. Best of all, you’ll be able to get the most out of every practice by following the ready-to-use practice plans. Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Baseball has everything you need for a rewarding and productive season.

The #1 Bestseller! Twelve-year-old Danny Walker may be the smallest kid on the basketball court -- but don't tell him that. Because no one plays with more heart or court sense. But none of that matters when he is cut from his local travel team, the very same team his father led to national prominence as a boy. Danny's father, still smarting from his own troubles, knows Danny isn't the only kid who was cut for the wrong reason, and together, this washed-up former player and a bunch of never-say-die kids prove that the heart simply cannot be measured. For fans of The Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, the Mighty Ducks, and Mike Lupica's other New York Times bestselling novels Heat, The Underdogs, and Million-Dollar Throw, here is a book that proves that when the game knocks you down, champions stand tall.

Take a journey into the magical yet sometimes complicated world of youth baseball through the eyes of a volunteer coach. Its All about the Kids is a fascinating compilation of fictional stories based on actual events as retold by Scooter Stevens, a youth baseball coach for over ten years. From baseball to soccer, from basketball to football, from lacrosse to hockey, hundreds of thousands of children participate in all types of youth sports across the United States each season. Regardless of the sport the reader played as a child, coached as an adult, or had children participate in, Scooter Stevens masterfully recounts humorous, lighthearted, and sometimes unsettling stories about the ever-present dark side of youth sports. From West Palm Beach to Westlake, from Tidewater to Tacoma, Its All about the Kids will be relatable to any reader who has ever experienced youth sports!

"This book provides practical strategies for developing the mental skills which help speed you to your full potential."---Dave Winfield What does it mean to play heads-up baseball? A heads-up player has confidence in his ability, keeps control in pressure situations, and focuses on one pitch at a time. His mental skills enable him to play consistently at or near his best despite the adversity baseball presents each day. "My ability to fully focus on what I had to do on a daily basis was what made me the successful player I was. Sure I had some natural ability, but that only gets you so far. I think I learned how to focus; it wasn't something that I was necessarily born with." -- Hank Aaron "Developing and refining my mental game has played a critical role in my success in baseball. For years players have had to develop these skills on their own. This book provides practical strategies for developing the mental skills that will help speed you toward your full potential." -- Dave Winfield

College Baseball Recruitment: Beating the Odds is a guide to getting noticed by college coaches, earning your way on to a college baseball team, and succeeding at that college level. The author's first hand experience climbing the high school and college ranks is shown in this passionate, coarse, and straight forward account of how to get into college baseball. Any parent or player who has ever dreamed of playing baseball after high school and has no idea where to start in the process of recruitment should consider reading this manual. Told from the perspective of the athlete it is the first book of its kind to show the struggle of the athlete from the athlete's eyes. Other books written by scouts and coaches show the recruitment process from their angle often giving the reader minimal insight, but this book tells the story from all angles; the eyes of the player, the eyes of the coach, and the eyes of the scout.

The competition level in Little League has never been tougher, but the kids on the Jackie Robinson West team faced their own set of challenges on and off the baseball diamond. The Jackie Robinson West team takes their fans and followers on a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs as each player shares a different part of the team’s history and experience, including a double-header with President Obama. Jackie Robinson West: The Story of the Youngest America’s Team leads readers on their harrowing path to the Little League World Series.

Whether playing baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, lacrosse, tennis, soccer, softball, volleyball, or wrestling, millions of teens all over the country participate in some sporting activity. Despite widespread enthusiasm for such activities, not all teens know how to make the most out of their interests, and some teens who might want to get involved don't know which sports are right for them. For high school athletes of all levels, this book provides up-to-date information on sports-related issues, practical tips, and valuable resources. Each chapter features quotes from current and former high school athletes who share their experiences related to the given topic. Issues discussed include -choosing a sport to play -balancing all aspects of life as a student-athlete -dealing with the pressures of competition -improving athletic performance -consequences of performance-enhancing drugs and supplements -common injuries and prevention measures -training during the off-season -playing in college -sports-related careers and opportunities Throughout the book, readers will find sidebars containing various sports-related tidbits: high school sports stories, the history of various sports, interesting facts, short biographies, and sports-themed young adult novels. Filled with useful information, Sports: The Ultimate Teen Guide will help high school athletes of all levels, from freshman novices to highly competitive seniors.

One day during an afternoon at the ball park, author Eric Gray asked his wife, daughter, and friend to identify their favorite game that they had been to. Little did he know, that simple question would soon take on a life of its own. As the question made its way to family members, friends, friends of friends, strangers and beyond, it gave way to a surprising collection of incredibly diverse stories and perspectives. Thus, Bases to Bleachers was born. Much more than your average baseball book, the many special and unique stories shared with readers here, whether they're about watching or playing, either at the Major League level or Little League, represent a wide gamut of experiences. Some entail meeting the stars or attending famous games--and some offered are personal, intimate moments involving family connections and the importance of baseball in people's lives. Unlike most baseball books, this is not a biography, or a discussion of a team, or analysis of a season. Baseball here is a setting in which both astounding feats and some of the most beautifully touching moments in peoples' lives have happened. Whether it's the first game, falling in love at the park, or even a beloved baseball glove that survived World War II, these stories are about more than just baseball. They reflect the joys, triumphs, and disappointments of the human condition, and often illustrate what's truly important in life--those things we hold most dear in our hearts.