The Kids Baseball Workout: A Fun Way to Get in Shape and Improve

Offers a workout plan and practice tips that will help youngsters become faster, stronger, and smarter baseball players, offering a slew of fun, skill-building drills.

Grade 3-5-A collection of fitness and skill tips. The initial chapter clarifies the difference between warming up, stretching, and cooling down, giving examples for each activity. Exercises can be done individually or with a few friends. Tips are included in the text and highlighted in green boxes throughout. Assorted quizzes question readers about what to do in hypothetical situations that may occur during a game. The layout is text dense and does not encourage reading straight through; readers may want to pick and choose exercises or focus on some of the other features. Cartoon pen-and-ink drawings contribute to the spirit of enjoyment in training well; there are a few small black-and-white photographs of well-known baseball stars. The book ends with suggestions for 10 baseball-based games. A "Skills 'n' Drills Progress Chart" is appended (with a suggestion to copy it). Supplemental fare.
Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-8. In this era of childhood obesity any book that attempts to get kids off the couch and moving deserves some praise. This book is not about baseball itself but how to train to become a better player. The first chapter is devoted to stretching, warming up, and cooling down. Subsequent chapters focus on different skills (running, hitting, throwing, etc.) and exercises that can be done for better performance. Some exercises are for a single person, some for two people, and some for larger groups. Professional, college, and Little League ballplayers, coaches and trainers are all interviewed and quoted at different points, and interspersed throughout the book are sidebars with quizzes, tips, and celebrity profiles. One major problem: there are few illustrations of the exercises, and those present are of cartoonlike characters, so there is no way for readers to check their form while performing new activities. A reading list, a training chart, and the obligatory note urging kids to talk to a doctor and parent before beginning any exercise program are appended. Marta Segal
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