Cooperstown Dreams Park: The Book that Sums Up the Experience

Josh Berkowitz, a Jewish dad and diehard Boston Red Sox fan from Massachusetts, wrote a book about an unlikely youth baseball team that competed in the premiere U10 national tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park, in Cooperstown, NY. Josh was the coach of this unique team.

My son, Nic, played in the U12 version of this premiere event two years ago. My site is loaded with information about the Cooperstown Dream Park tournament. Countless parents and coaches, from many teams across the country, visit my site every month to read my CDP information. Visits to this content make up a significant portion of the 40,000 or so pageviews I get each month.  I guess that is why Josh reached out to me to review his book.

In the book, Josh writes about how fear held him back in life, so I am wondering how he mustered up the courage to ask me, a Catholic Yankee fan, to review his book. That takes some guts. I have nothing against Jewish people whatsoever, but I have a strong bias against Red Sox fans so a positive review was not a given.

Regardless, Josh's publisher sent me a copy of the book. The postman delivered it on Friday as an ominous dark cloud passed over my house. Then strong winds followed shortly. I could sense something foreboding. I got up to take a look and then went outside to take down the umbrella that covers our backyard table. I saw the mail truck fight the wind while leaving my development. I ran around to the front of the house to get the mail hoping to get there before the rains poured down. I had to hold on to my Yankee hat as I made my way. I could hear wood from nearby trees creaking under the pressure, almost screaming in pain against the forceful wind. This spooked me a bit. I quickly grabbed the mail which contained a small package, some bills and a letter from Mitt Romney that happened to blew out of my hand. I ran after the letter even though Mitt is probably a damn Boston Red Sox fan too.

The winds continued to intensified. Trees started to fall and electric and cable lines fell to the ground. I ran back to the house and suddenly found myself alone with no electricity, no internet and no cable TV. It would remain that way for 2 days. I did have a small white package to open.

I watched my American flag struggle to hold on to the pole as I ripped open the package. I considered getting the flag down, while I pulled the book called Third Base For Life: A Memoir of Fathers, Sons and Baseball by Josh Berkowitz from the envelope. I looked at the flag again. It was not safe to go outside, so I decided to let the flag fend for itself. The house was still bright from natural light, so I grabbed a Yuengling beer and I started to read the words of the Red Sox fan with some reluctance.

The book opens on the first day of school at Rashi, a private Jewish Day School in Newton, Massachusetts. A place where teachers indoctrinate innocent boys to hate the Yankees, I thought to myself as I read. I almost did not get past the second page.

With nothing better to do, I read on. I soon realized that Josh and I have a few things in common. We both love baseball. We love Italian food (It's the only food he mentions in the book besides Kosher food, but Josh is not Kosher). We both have teenage sons who play baseball. We both have loving supportive wives. And we both realize that our kids have more confidence than we ever had.

Before I knew it, I was emotionally invested in the compelling characters. Josh describes the real life quirky people so masterfully that you instantly feel for them and feel sorry for them. There is a kid with a diabetes pump, a hemophiliac, a mexican born boy adopted by a gay Jew and his partner. There is a bully you'll hate for awhile and the "private jet" rich kid. The list reminded me of my post that listed all of the stereotypical types of youth baseball players.  And of course Josh mentions lots of over protective parents, irrational fans and clueless coaches. If this were a fiction book you would criticize the author for creating characters who were too far fetched.

Josh also described the Cooperstown Dreams Park youth baseball tournament experience in such vivid detail. If you had already been to Cooperstown Dreams Park you will likely feel like you were there again. I welcomed back memories that distracted me with delight. If you are going to Cooperstown Dreams Park in the next year or so, read the book, you will appreciate the experience even more when you get there. By the way, Josh's description of the pro-like caliber of the 10 year old players is not exaggerated. My son played on an amazing 10 year old team that finished 2nd in the CABA World Series beating an All Star Team from Puerto Rico and another from Panama. Some 10 year old kids can really play the game at a high level.

Josh weaves his story skillfully with both pleasant and sad twists that will keep you reading. And throughout the story he tactfully teaches kids and dads alike the importance of overcoming the fear that holds us back.

If you love youth baseball and feel good stories you will enjoy this true David vs Goliath story about an all Jewish youth baseball team. In this story, however, there are 95, no make that 94 Goliaths. I won't ruin the ending by telling you the story. I can tell you that very few of the rocks tossed by the sling of David were very accurate or effective, but as Bill Murray famously chanted in the movie Meatballs - It just doesn't matter.  It just doesn't matter.  It just doesn't matter.

The Main Point

Josh, this book is inspiring to all of us who have let fear hold us back. Thanks for putting yourself out there and writing it.

And I hate to admit it but I guess there are some damn Red Sox fans may have merit after all.

Youth Hockey: Coach Assaults Opposing 13 Year Old Player

Crazy Youth Sports Coach Series - Special Alert

In Vancouver, BC, the coach of the winning team tripped a 13-year-old hockey player during the post game handshake. The tripping incident followed the UBC Hornets 5-4 defeat of the Richmond Steel.

Unfortunately for the coach, the player, who fell, broke his wrist and a parent of a Steel player caught the incident on video. The coach, Martin Tremblay, who was arrested in Vancouver, claimed the tripping was an accident. He was arrested and charged with assault. Investigators are now reviewing witness statements and video of the incident.

Accounts also mention that following the incident, the coach gave fans appalled by the tripping the middle finger. Other accounts mentioned that Hornet players acted inappropriately too. Allegedly one Hornet player was caught on camera throwing a water bottle at fans in the bleachers while his teammates taunted fans with rude gestures.

The Main Point

This may be the most horrible coach in youth sports. In one isolated moment, his irrational action injured an opposing player. I would guess that in many not so isolated moments his behavior during practices and games has affected the minds of his own players. Players often mimic the coach. 


We need to weed out coaches like this. Video is a great way to do that.

Youth Sports Injuries: Consider the Big Picture

When your kid gets an injury that sidelines him or her, do you look at the big picture? 

Do you talk toughness - playing through pain like Ripken and Gehrig? 

Or do you take a more cautious approach? 

When your kid is sidelined, does he or she understand the big picture?

On June 17th, my son hit a long line drive to right centerfield. (My wife captured the at-bat on her camera below). I watched the hard hit ball with delight. When I heard the ping of the bat, I was thinking double or triple easy. The fast centerfielder got a great jump on the ball, tracked the ball well and at the last split second reached as high as possible while running full speed to snatched the ball out of the air. I looked toward 2B to see my son's face, but he was not there. He barely made it to first base. I caught a glimpse of him as he limped toward the dugout. He found a team mom who is a trainer to stretch him out to relieve the pain. He was hoping that he could get back in the game. He never made it back in.

On June 18th, my son hit the waiting room at the orthopedic doctor and was diagnosed with a hip flexor strain. The combination of baseball and golf and growing led to the problem.

He has been on the disabled list since. He missed 4 games last weekend when the team played in a big local tournament. He missed a game played at Marge Schott Stadium on the University of Cincinnati. And it looks like he will miss a big tournament in Columbus this weekend. 

He has been going to physical therapy, taking his anti-inflammatory drugs, heating, icing and stretching as prescribed. The doctor said that he would be out 1 to 2 weeks. 

He is almost ready to come back, but we are being cautious for three reasons. We do not want him to come back early and re-injure the hip and

1) miss out on the Nations Baseball World Series in Florida. 

2) jeopardized tryouts for the high school golf team.

3) jeopardized tryouts the 2013 club baseball season. (There is a chance our team is going to breakup.)

At dinner the other night, we asked him what the physical therapist said about the timetable to get back on the field. He said with a big smile, "Another week, but I am going to give it a try tomorrow night." We said, "Really."

Still smiling, he said, "You guys are not looking at the short picture here. You are constantly looking at the big picture."

The Main Point

My son misses baseball and golf but he sees the big picture. If he returns too early and tears the hip flexor from the bone, he will be out a long, long time. He does not want to risk the Florida trip or the tryouts.

I am not as patient. I cannot wait for him to start playing again.

Youth Basketball: Refs Influence Game Outcome

Should refs feel sorry for teams being out played and as a result call a game differently then they normally would?

We have all seen it many times before. One team is dominating another team, so the refs limit the fouls against the inferior team. At the same time, the refs call a tight game against the superior team. I believe that the refs do this to keep the score reasonable and to keep the lopsided game moving.

This past weekend, my daughter's team breezed through a tournament and advanced to the finals as the number one seed .

As the number one seed, we played our semi-final game from 3p to 4p against the 4th seed. We won 38-25. The 2nd and 3rd seeded teams played from 4p to 5p. The 3rd seeded team advanced. Our team beat the 3rd seeded team by 10 points during pool play.

The gym was exceedingly hot when our team took the court with confidence at 5p. The other team fresh off their win looked over-heated and tired. Our team took advantage and scored immediately after the tip off. We scored 4 more baskets in the first 3 minutes of play to take a 10 - 0 lead. The head coach of the other team called timeout and berated his girls. It was embarrassing.

When the game resumed, one of the best players on the other team was assessed her 3rd foul and the hot headed coach stepped on to the court and yelled at the ref who made the call. The coach was assessed a technical for walking on the court. Our point guard buried the 2 technical foul shots and our team took a commanding 12-0 lead. The neutered coach retreated to the sidelines and contained his emotions for the rest of the game.

The game played on and our team continued to dominate possession. Our team was passing and cutting and beating the other team's man to man defense with ease, but layups and short jumpers were not falling. Still it was very obvious that our team was in control.

At the half way point of the first half, the other team called time. We were still winning 12-0, but should have been winning 24-0. After the time out, our opponent emerged and started employing a tightly packed zone. Our team kept trying to pass and cut in the narrow lanes, but met lots of resistance and tough physical play. The refs, however, were not making any calls. After several obvious fouls were ignored, our coach called timeout and talked to the ref. The ref told our coach to relax because we were obviously going to win the game.

Well, our team kept missing shots and got frustrated. Our frustration lead to fouls and the other team buried foul shot after foul shot. Our team was still dominating each possession, but soon it was a 1 point game.

With 2 minutes left in the game, our team went into a slow down mode. We passed the ball back and forth. Every now and then the other team would foul us trying to make a steal. We were not even close to the bonus, so after each foul we had to throw the ball in.

Sure enough while we were trying to runout the clock, one of the passes my daughter made was intercepted and lead to the winning basket with 16 seconds left on the clock. My little girl was devastated.

The Main Point

In principle, I do not have a problem refs controlling the speed and score of lopsided games, but not in a championship game between two obviously strong teams. We lost the game because our team went completely cold. The other team won the game because they never gave up. Unfortunately, the refs played a major role in the outcome and that is just not right.

Youth Sports: Female Athletes and Concussions

My daughter, CC, is small compared to the girls that she competes against in basketball. The elbows of these much larger girls are at the eye level of CC. Regardless, she does not back down. This gives me a great sense of pride, but it also makes me a bit nervous.

If you are proud for your tough daughter, yet a bit concerned about head injuries like I am, then follow the link and watch Concussion and the Female Athlete: The Untold Story. The video was created by the University of Minnesota Tucker Centre for Research on Girls and Women in Sport.

The Main Point

Learn about concussions and make informed decisions if your daughter, or son for that matter, gets a concussion. The window of opportunity for sports is small, so parents and athletes often make irrational decisions regarding injuries. There are lots and lots of games and lot of life to live after the games are over. Take the time necessary to heal.

Youth Baseball and Golf: Can a kid play both successfully?

Friday, a big meeting at work was canceled. Since my calendar was clear, I took a vacation day from work. My son and I played nine holes of golf in the morning and then we drove to Columbus, Ohio for game two of the Nations Baseball Ohio State Championship.

Conventional wisdom says that one swing messes up the other, so players should not play both sports. My son has played both sports successfully since age 6 , so I do not believe this to be true.

Baseball Age 9 

Golf Age 9

Golf Age 14

Baseball Age 14

During a recent golf lesson, I was surprised to hear the golf pro used a few baseball metaphors to communicate to my son. That piqued my interest, so I asked the Pro if he thought playing baseball and golf at the same time is detrimental to either swing. He said, with great confidence, "Absolutely not. The set-up, load and rotational mechanics are quite similar. And, the hand eye coordination of one helps the other and vice versa."

When I got home, I googled the question. I wanted to see what other experts were saying.

Don Trahan of Swingsurgeon.com agrees with my son's golf pro in a post called Golf Swing vs Baseball Swing

Regarding baseball coaches wanting junior golfers to stop playing golf because it ruins their baseball swing: in my opinion and experience, that’s BUNK....The good news is their golf swing was not compromised by their batting swing, and their batting swing did not cause problems with their golf swing.  I applied the exact same swing theory to swinging a bat as to swinging a golf club and it worked for both.

The Main Point

My son played a strong round of golf in the am and was 2 for 2 with 2 doubles in the baseball game that night. I think that a good athlete can do both without any trouble. 

Youth Golf Club Fitting: Sales Job or Con Job?

I went to get my son new golf clubs and I was talked into spending significantly more money than I had planned. Was this a great sales job or a con job? Perhaps the sales pro read about me in the first chapter of the book, "The Most Expensive Game in Town" What do you think?

My son is going to tryout for his high school team in August, so for his combined 8th grade graduation, Catholic Confirmation and 15th birthday, I took him out to get fitted for new golf clubs.

We went to the Golf Exchange because their TV commercial featured the latest computer technology for fitting golf clubs. After I saw the TV ad, I went to the website and noticed that Golf Exchange was a Golf Digest Top 100 Fitter, The Ping Fitter of the Year, a Mizuno Top 100 Fitter and the Callaway 2012 Fitter of the Year.

I was sufficiently convinced, so on my son's birthday, we went to the Golf Exchange to get my son fitted for new clubs. The pro immediately asked me a bunch of questions about my son's objectives, golfing history and swing. The pro then asked my son to hit his own 6 iron in the cage to get warmed up, while he fired up the computer to analyze my son's swing.

My son started hitting the ball and numbers jumped up onto a computer screen.

He than gave my son a club with some special impact indicating tape affixed to the club head. After each shot, the pro would read the tape and then remove the head of the club and replace it with another that connected at a slightly different angle. The pro would then again put indicating tape on the club head and hand the club to my son. This continued until the optimal club head angle was determined.

The pro then asked my son to hit his driver. After a few swings were recorded, the pro called over another sales associate and they started whispering back and forth. I edged closer to try to hear the conversation, but I could not hear it clearly.

I was curious, so I asked the pro if there was a problem. He told me that there was no problem with my son's swing, in fact your son's numbers are truly amazing. The problem is that your son's driver cannot keep up with his incredible swing and it might be difficult to analyze your son's "pro-like" swing inside.

He asked me how far my son hits his driver. I hesitated thinking that he would not believe me, then I told him that he hits between 250 and 310 and on occasion farther than that. My son is 5 ft 8 and weighs 120 pounds, so I was waiting for that look from the pro that says, "I think that you are exaggerating a bit about your son." Instead, he said, "I am not surprised with these numbers. In fact, he is losing distance because of the incredibly high backwards rotation he is generating with his current club." He then told me that the right shaft on the driver will control that spin better and your son will be hitting 310+ consistently instead of occasionally.

The pro then showed the numbers to another pro in the shop. This sales pro happened to be the JV coach of a local high school. The JV coach was also amazed by the numbers and told me that my son can be a special player - we don't see numbers like that from 15 year olds very often.

The Main Point

If the pros at Golf Exchange were feeding me BS to get me to spend more than I intended, then they are the greatest bunch of actors in the world.

I bought my son Ping I 20s and scheduled an outside fitting for a new set of woods too. When I got home, I looked up the swing statistics for pros and they did match my son's numbers. I also read some Ping research that shows proper golf club fitting does make a difference.

Why would I not want to give my son every advantage as he tries out for the golf team. I sucker is born every minute, but a natural golf swing is not. I guess I will find out over the next couple of years which is more accurate.

Youth Baseball: Grandfather Bludgeons Another Grandfather with a Bat

This past week, I watched all 6 hours of the mini-series on the History Channel called Hatfields & McCoys  If you love history, this show is a must watch.

Hatfields & McCoys

The History Channel chronicled the passion, hatred and vengeance between the two legendary families that led to decades of senseless violence and murder. Human life in the late 1860's on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia was not as important as being respected and settling a score.

At one point in the story, a Hatfield boy fell in love with a McCoy girl and they had a baby. Some thought that the baby would quell the violence, but the shared grandchild of Devil Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy, the patriarchs of the feuding families, was shunned and the violence continued unabated.

On the field after a youth baseball game this past week, the grandfather of a little leaguer didn't seem to value human life as much as Devil Anse Hatfield when he picked up a metal baseball bat and bludgeoned his grandson's other grandfather.

Just when you think that you have seen it all in youth sports, you read a story like this.

The Main Point

In the movie Hatfields & McCoys, both families often commingled at county fairs and other regional events. At these events, they would listen to music, dance and compete in games of skill all while avoiding each other. Of course, hatred confined to a small area was like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.

Similarly, youth sports often brings people together who don't want to be together.  Divorced parents, who divvy up major holiday so that they can avoid each other often find themselves attending the same youth sporting events. These unavoidable meet-ups can be civil or explosive. I have seen both, so I was not surprised by the story of the family feud playing out on a little league field after a game.

Do you have any family feud youth sports stories to share? Please do.

Youth Sports: Coach, Your Players Are Hydrated Are You?

This past weekend, my daughter's team competed in an elite regional tournament. The temperature was 94 degrees and very sunny.

This is what we did to keep the athletes cool and hydrated

1.  We packed a cooler with 12 white towels soaked in ice and water. One towel for each girl to put on her head or neck to keep cool.
2. We packed ample amounts of ice water and Gatorade. 
3. We set up a tent on the side lines for the players to sit under.
4. The tournament mandated water breaks at the 15 minute mark of each half.
5. We immediately got out of the sun between games - my daughter and I went to see the Avengers in a cool cinema between games on Sunday.

The kids went 4-1 in the tournament. They lost in the finals 1-0 against the best team in Ohio. The steps we took to keep them cool and hydrated worked and allowed us to compete.

But what about the coaches? Did we stay hydrated? Apparently not.

The Main Point

Coaches, you need to stay as hydrated as your players. If not you can end up like me.

On the way home from the finals on Monday, while driving 65 MPH on the highway, I started to blackout. Luckily, I was able to move off the highway and remain conscious. I stayed as calm as I could as I instructed my daughter on how to use On-Star to call for help if I should pass out. I then instructed her to climbed in the back of the car to get me a cold wet white towel and some water. The water and the cool town made me feel better. Soon, I felt good enough to continue driving, but I did not want to risk it so we pulled off on the very next exit to get some water and food.

I felt good as we left the restaurant. We started to drive home and as soon as I reached cruising speed, I started to feel really dizzy again. I pulled over again. Once I again I took a cool towel and more water. I then started feeling better again, but was not confident that I could drive my daughter home safely. I did feel good enough to drive to a hospital that happened to be on the very next exit. I drove there and checked myself in.

I learned a valuable lesson even though we are not running around, coaches need hydration too. 

Youth Sports: It's Not About You Dad

This past memorial day weekend, my daughter's U11 soccer team advanced to the finals of the Warrior Classic, an elite regional soccer tournament held in Dayton.

The pre-game line-up before the finals

The team has played well all season, but has made fatal flaws in games that have resulted in more losses than wins. The team finally put it all together in this tournament, including a big win over the best team in Ohio during pool play. Unfortunately, our team lost in the finals to the same team 1-0. Regardless, my daughter's team earned a lot of respect and walked away with some hardware.

CC with 2nd place hardware

That is not the story. This is a Crazy Youth Sports Parents Series Story

One of CC's teammate did not participate in this wonderful experience. She did not participate because her dad made the decision to quit the team prior to the tournament.

Here is how it went down:

Memorial Day Weekend is a big soccer tournament weekend. Our U11 Elite team was playing in Dayton. The U12 Elite team was playing in Columbus.

A dad on our team has a daughter on both teams, so to keep the family together for the holiday weekend and reduce the number of hotel rooms needed, he asked the U12 coach if his younger daughter could play up.

The U12 coach called our coach to ask permission to take the player. Our coach approved the move.

Our coach then called up another defender from the B team, a defender who he has wanted to call up for awhile now. He saw this as a great opportunity to see how this B team defender would play at the highest level prior to tryouts coming up.

The U12 coach then decided that he did not want to add the younger player to his tournament roster.

The dad then called our coach to inform him that his daughter would be coming to the U11 tournament. The coach informed the dad that he has already registered for the tournament with the B player on the roster. He said that she could come to the tournament, but expect reduced playing time.

The dad was not happy with this situation, became irate and decided to quit.

The Main Point

Unfortunately, this is not a unique situation. Many parents over-react when they feel that their kid is being wronged.

Who loses in situations like this?

The girl, who is a great kid. She didn't play soccer all weekend long and missed a chance to win a trophy.

The girl's teammates who missed playing with their friend.

The dad, who is a great guy and probably feels sick about the situation. I have never gone to this extreme, but I have approached coaches and regretted it. I don't do that anymore.

Tip - Let the season play out and then make a rational decision for your kid.

Youth Sports: Family Separated on Holiday Weekend

When I was a kid, a holiday weekend meant a trip to the Jersey shore with the entire family. Soccer was a fall sport, basketball was a winter sport and baseball leagues would take a break for the long weekend.

Fast forward 35-40 years and soccer is a year round sport, basketball is a year round sport and baseball plays 70 games from March 15 to July 31 instead of 18 games. And of course none of the sports gives a rats ass about your family vacation plans.

This weekend I am in Dayton, Ohio with my daughter, CC, who is playing in an elite soccer tournament. My wife is with our son, Nic, in Cleveland, Ohio, 3 hours away. Nic is playing in a top regional baseball tournament.

Is this situation good or bad for the family? What do you think?

The Main Point

Personally, I do not mind going to a tournament on a holiday weekend. I actually enjoy them. I would much rather enjoy the long weekend with my entire family together, but these weekends do give my wife and I a chance to connect with our kids individually on a much deeper level.

Last night, my daughter and I went out to dinner at Franco's Italiano Restorante, a must stop when you are in Dayton. We both got two big bowls of pasta and talked about the two big wins the team had earlier in the day. The second win of the day against the best team in the state was especially fun to reminisce about. CC had a terrific two games in goal. She made four spectacular saves. She even had an assist on a long punt over the defense.

Give the Assist to the Goalie

Gave Saving Dive

Thanks to iphones, my wife and I traded updates and pictures. My son went 3 for 3 and threw a guy out at the plate from second base. I enjoyed the chats with my son as he recounted the highlights after the game too.

It is not ideal, but it will be a memorable weekend for my family even though we are not all together. Thanks to technology we can stay connected.

Youth Sports: How the Bad Economy is Keeping Kids off the Field (Part 1)

I keep a log of how much we spend on youth sports. The $10,000 per year amount has been the subject of a book, Time Magazine, the New York Times and the Huffington Post. I was not featured in these publications because I am unique, no I was featured because I represent the reality of a lot of middle and upper income households. The economy has changed my spending habits on many things, but not youth sports.

The economy is a real issue for many youth sports parents and kids are paying the price by sitting the seasons out. Over the next couple of posts I am going to study this situation to start a conversation.

Schools used to be the main source of "free" sports for kids, however, schools with budget woes are dropping sports or starting "pay-for-play" programs to subsidize the costs not covered by tax dollars. According to the Unversity of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll,  61% of kids are paying to play school sports with an average fee of $93. Some are paying upwards to $150 per sports season. The average cost for each kid to play is $381.

This trend is negatively impacts lower income families. 19% of kids in households making less than $60,000 saw their participation decrease, while only 5% of households making more than $60,000 said participation decreased.

The Main Point

As Republican Speaker of the House Boehner (against raising the debt ceiling) and President Obama (for raising the debt ceiling) debate the national debt crisis, there is a lot of rhetoric about the national debt problem is going to be falling on the backs of our children.


 "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America 's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America 's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, "the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."


Guess what fellas, it all ready is.


By the way - the quote above was spoken by Senator Barack H. Obama in 2006. He needs to take his own advice.

Youth Baseball: Get Your Swing Analyzed by a Pro at ExtraInnings

My son has spent a lot of time with a baseball hitting instructor, but many kids do not have access to this type of training nor the resources to pay upwards to $60 per hour. These kids rely on good old dad to teach them the finer points of hitting a baseball, which happens to be one of the hardest things to do in the world of sports. Dad might have played in HS or college and have a clue, but most dads do not have a trained eye.

Well as they say - there is an app for that.

Now there an app that helps a dad or a trainer analyze a baseball swing. The app has all kinds of teaching ad features to help a young hitter better understand his or her swing.

You can down load that app on your mobile device. Search for ExtraInnings on your App Store or Itunes. The app is only $4.99.

Now here is the cool part. Once you download the app, you upload a video of your kid and send the video to a professional at ExtraInnings for an expert analysis. In a day or two you get the analysis of your kid's swing. For a limited time, this service is included in the cost of the app. That is a tremendous value.

Here is the analysis of my son's swing by Dana D'Agostino. His analysis is very similar to the feedback my son gets from his hitting trainer.





Visit ExtraInnings.us to learn more about this app. ExtraInnings is a company that specializes in baseball and softball instruction and training. They have 40 or so outlets. 


Full disclosure. I was given the app for free, but was not paid for my endorsement.


The Main Point

Hitting a baseball is perhaps the hardest thing to do in sports. A short quick and repeatable swing is the key to success. In order to develop a short quick swing, a kid needs to understand the mechanics of the swing. This is one of the best and perhaps the most inexpensive way to get this type of analysis.

I am a huge fan of this service. If you have a trainer - have your instructor use the app to show you what he or she is trying to explain to you. You can also get your baseball / softball coach to use the app to analyze your swing.

If you don't have an instructor and your coach is as clueless as your dad, upload your swing into the app and get it analyzed by a pro. The first analysis is currently included in the app, subsequent expert analyses will only cost about $15.

The app cannot fully replace live iterative instruction, but it will help your kid better understand what he or she needs to do to be successful.

Youth Sports: Should Boys be Allowed to Play on Girls Teams?

In the past, I have tried to answer the question should girls be allowed to play on boys teams?


I determined that the answer to that question was a resounding maybe. 


The question came up when my daughter, CC, tried out for a boys basketball team in 2nd grade. She wanted to play basketball, but there were no 2nd grade girls teams. She made the team and did fairly well. She was not the best on the team, but she was not the worst by far. The team had an outstanding former NBA coach, Ronnie Grandison, so she learned a lot. The following season, CC played with girls. The experience helped set her apart from other girls.


I concluded that girls should be allowed to play on boys teams if they can 1) compete safely against the boys, 2) grow in confidence and self-esteem, 3) improve their skills from the experience and 4) have fun. 


This is especially true if the girl does not have an opportunity to play the sport in a girls league. Chelsea is a standout baseball player in Florida. She proves the point that girls should be allowed to play on boys teams.


It's when a girl wants to wrestle that the once easy conclusion gets a bit grey. 


Last year, an Iowa wrestling standout, Joel Northrup, denied himself a chance at an Iowa State wrestling title by refusing to wrestle Cassy Herkelmen. He refused on religious grounds.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy, however, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner."

The wrestling situation is very complex. I could be persuaded by both sides of the argument, but in this very close contact and often violent sport, I personally think that girls should have their own competitions. 


So what happens when I boy wants to play on a girls team. A boy, named Keeling Pilaro from Southampton, NY, grew up in Ireland where field hockey is both a mens and women's sport. When he he moved to the US, he wanted to continue playing the sport he loves. There was one major problem, however, field hockey in the US is a girls sport. He pursued it anyway and was allowed to play at first, but he dominated so much that they eventually banned him from playing. The kid is hardly an imposing figure at 4 foot 8 inches and 82 pounds for varsity high school player, so safety was not the issue. It was because he was dominant due to his training.








Chelsea Baker is dominant too thanks to a knuckleball that she learned to throw. Should she be banned?


The Main Point


Can the girls argue for equality and fairness at the same time deny a boy a chance to play a sport he loves but has no opportunity to play here in the US?


Title IX is suppose to be an anti-discrimination law. 

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,"

Does it not work both ways?


Let's be honest. Title IX is an anti-discrimination law for women. As a dad of an athletic girl, I applaud Title IX because it will provide my daughter equal access to scholarships. training and equipment as boys. As a dad of an athletic boy, I question Title IX. I see how men's programs have been cut in the name of equality. The law is clearly not perfect.


In the case of Keeling Pilaro, I determined that the answer to that question is a resounding maybe. 

Youth Sports: Two Sport Athlete Overcommitted (Part 4)

In the previous three posts, I have questioned whether it is fair for a young athlete to commit to two different teams in the same season? Is it fair to the respective coaches, fair to both sets of teammates, fair to all of the parents who spend a lot of money to put their kid on a top team with high expectations?

I talked to two people who have experienced the two sport situation. After my conversations, I started asking a new question.

Is it fair that a talented young athlete has to commit to one sport over another before he / she knows his / her full potential / passion in any given sport?

The other day, I was at an orthopedic doctor getting a mysterious bump on my shin looked at. (It turned out to be nothing.) Prior to seeing the doctor, a young assistant came into the room to take down some information. While she was asking me questions like when the lump appeared and what medications do I take and am I allergic to anything etc. She also asked me if I had kids, which led to a conversation about youth sports. She was dressed in sweats and looked very athletic, so I asked her if she was an athlete. She said that she had played basketball for a small division 3 college in Ohio. I asked her if she played any other sports growing up. She mentioned that she played club soccer and AAU basketball. Wow, just like my daughter, CC.

So I asked her the burning question - how did you play both? She said,

"You daughter is going to get lots of pressure to specialize from coaches, single sport teammates and parents of teammates. My advice is don't do specialize for as long as you can. My soccer training helped me become a better basketball player and my basketball training helped me become a better soccer player. And, I did not know which sport that I wanted to pursue in college until 9th grade. Play both as long as you can."

I also called a friend of mine to dig a bit deeper into the subject. My friend has two very athletic daughters. The oldest is playing volleyball in college. The youngest just signed a letter of intent to play soccer in college. Both played high level club basketball and volleyball through 8th grade.

Here is what he said after I told him about the pressure we were getting lately:

Wow this sounds so familiar as we had to do this for both of our girls.    

Kate and Shea played both club volleyball and club soccer up to 8^th grade (soccer and Volleyball are the same season in High school and club).  Both also played CYO volleyball and basketball.

My recommendation is to keep CC into as many sports as she want to be in and as you can manage.  I think this gives them a feel for what they want to do and they do not get burned out to early on one sport.   As they get closer to high school, girls start to level out