Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way: Ensuring the Best Experience for Your Kids in Any Sport 
asked by bigwinner on November 17, 2006 5:45 AM
Unparalleled advice for parents of young athletes, from father and beloved future Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken.
Few athletes embody sportsmanship and class as perfectly as Cal Ripken, Jr. Since he retired from baseball in 2001, Ripken has devoted his time to coaching kids, including his own two children. His daughter, Rachel, plays basketball; his son, Ryan, plays baseball. The Babe Ruth League even changed the name of its largest division (more than 700,000 five-to-twelveyear-olds) from Bambino Baseball to Cal Ripken Baseball in 1991. But Ripken is troubled by what he sees in youth sports: a competitive intensity that removes the element of fun from playing. Drawing from his experiences as a father, a player, and a coach to his charges at Ripken Baseball, the legend offers his insights and advice in Parenting Young Baseball Players the Ripken Way, including:
• How an overemphasis on winning can harm your child's game
• Why it's counterproductive to correct your child's technique during a game
• Mistakes well-meaning parents can make
• A complete guide to the structure of youth baseball leagues
• How Ripken's techniques can be applied to other sports
• And much more
Showcasing his proven philosophy (keep it simple, explain the “why,” celebrate the individual, and make it fun!), Cal Ripken has created a plan that will delight baseball lovers for generations to come.
Few athletes embody sportsmanship and class as perfectly as Cal Ripken, Jr. Since he retired from baseball in 2001, Ripken has devoted his time to coaching kids, including his own two children. His daughter, Rachel, plays basketball; his son, Ryan, plays baseball. The Babe Ruth League even changed the name of its largest division (more than 700,000 five-to-twelveyear-olds) from Bambino Baseball to Cal Ripken Baseball in 1991. But Ripken is troubled by what he sees in youth sports: a competitive intensity that removes the element of fun from playing. Drawing from his experiences as a father, a player, and a coach to his charges at Ripken Baseball, the legend offers his insights and advice in Parenting Young Baseball Players the Ripken Way, including:
• How an overemphasis on winning can harm your child's game
• Why it's counterproductive to correct your child's technique during a game
• Mistakes well-meaning parents can make
• A complete guide to the structure of youth baseball leagues
• How Ripken's techniques can be applied to other sports
• And much more
Showcasing his proven philosophy (keep it simple, explain the “why,” celebrate the individual, and make it fun!), Cal Ripken has created a plan that will delight baseball lovers for generations to come.
Reviews
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Great book for parents with kids involved with sports. Very sensible advice. Ripken shares experiences he had with his own children.
reviewed by titanium7 on November 21, 2006 3:56 AM
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I have been honored to have coached youth sports for sixteen seasons. I've often struggled with what is best for the kids in the long run against a parent's internal drive for competition, and to win. This book should nearly be a mandate for every parent in this country who has kids playing sports. Cal, along with Rick Wolff, who is Chairman of the Center for Sports Parenting, have created an outstanding book that covers all the bases about child development, skill development, and long-term success. In a society where news is filled with overzealous, and even violent parents in kids sports, this book offers the cure. It even provides the secret to creating long-term athletic success (and it is not what most parents think it is).
The book is full of practical advice about how to broaden athletic skills and deal with the developmental and emotional challenges kids face when playing organized youth sports (how we wish for the sandlots of yesteryear). In fact, when my seven-year-old son got out at a play at second, and couldn't control his emotions, I found myself driving home frantically just to reread the chapter on "dealing with disappointment", so I could help him through it.
When I was a kid, I didn't have fun, wasn't given a chance, and I was one of the millions of kids in this country that stopped playing sports. Cal and Rick are right on target about what to do to keep kids playing. The messages in this can create happier kids, happier fields, less-stressed parents, and in the long run, more kids that choose to play sports for a lifetime (and do them well).
The book is full of practical advice about how to broaden athletic skills and deal with the developmental and emotional challenges kids face when playing organized youth sports (how we wish for the sandlots of yesteryear). In fact, when my seven-year-old son got out at a play at second, and couldn't control his emotions, I found myself driving home frantically just to reread the chapter on "dealing with disappointment", so I could help him through it.
When I was a kid, I didn't have fun, wasn't given a chance, and I was one of the millions of kids in this country that stopped playing sports. Cal and Rick are right on target about what to do to keep kids playing. The messages in this can create happier kids, happier fields, less-stressed parents, and in the long run, more kids that choose to play sports for a lifetime (and do them well).
reviewed by miceandmen on November 27, 2006 10:57 PM