Fun Over Fear

Parents, do you want to make sure your child has as much fun as possible when they start playing baseball? Did you know that youth baseball is the second most popular boys' sport in the United States? The sandlot and neighborhood pickup games have been replaced by the explosion of "pay for play" travel baseball that can start as early as six years.

The myth: Recent studies of parents of adolescent athletes identified a belief among parents that travel baseball and early specialization are necessary for advanced skill set development. Many feel that specialization will increase their child's ability to play baseball beyond high school.

The reality: Any travel team coach or instructor that tells you, as a parent of a three- through 12-year-old, that lessons and being a part of travel baseball will result in a college scholarship, is only concerned with one thing: your money!

As the parent of two sons who went on to play baseball in college as well as a former head baseball coach at the NCAA level, I want to share alternatives with parents that will allow their children to avoid the anxiety and stress that many face within the overstructured and overorganized world of travel baseball. The hamster wheel of travel ball is a business model and not a baseball development model. At the ages of three through 12, baseball should be all about one thing-having fun!

We play it as kids, we watch it and listen to it as adults, and we pass down our love of the game through generations. Baseball is an American family tradition, and I am sharing many stories from my childhood as well as my journey as a baseball dad. My hope is that this audiobook will allow you as a family to create many moments and memories through the sport of baseball. Some of my greatest memories as a child are from the pickup games with my neighborhood friends and local Little League games we played in.

Baseball should be an outlet for children, a chance for them to be creative, to exercise, and to learn how to succeed.