Youth Volleyball: Why are Girl's Volleyball Shorts So Short? (Part 3)

What??? Beach Volleyball without Bikinis at the London 2012 Olympics. TV ratings must be down and NBC must be furious.

In my last post on this subject, I stated that my post called Youth Volleyball: Why are Girl's Volleyball Shorts so Short? has received the second most all time traffic on my site and it's the number 1 most commented on post on my site. The Olympics bring volleyball to the masses, so the Olympics have increased the number of visits to my site by people trying to figure out Why are women's volleyball shorts so short? Traffic to that post has tripled since the Olympic volleyball started.

Did anyone notice that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were wearing long sleeves and pants when cool London nights forced the teams to cover up? 

Did you know that bikinis are no longer required uniforms out of respect for the cultural beliefs of some participating countries.

When I first wrote about this subject, I was not advocating for longer shorts or berating shorter shorts, I was just curious about when, where and why the shorts came to be in women's volleyball. I concluded that tight spandex short shorts and the skimpy bikinis do have some function, but these uniforms have more to do with fashion and publicity. Or as the Australian Sport Commission calls it the Sexploitation of sports.

British star Denise Johns agrees with this point of view in a interview in the Sunday Times which was also quoted in the Huffington Post article called Olympic Volleyball Uniforms: Bikinis No Longer Required. 

 "The people who own the sport [the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball] want it to be sexy," Johns told the Sunday Times. "I used to play in shorts and a T-shirt and was reluctant to change. But if it gets volleyball attention, so be it."

The Main Point

More evidence that women's volleyball uniforms have more to do with form over function.

So I have a new question, why are men's divers swim shorts so butt-crack-showing short? I assume for the same reason - to attract an audience.

Youth Baseball: Rich Team with Poorly Behaved Parents

If you are a baseball coach, would you rather coach bunch of rich kids or poor kids? 


Before you answer - factor in whether you would rather coach a team with wealthy parents or low income parents.


Last week, I got the following note from a paid baseball coach for a U12 select team in a wealthy east coast town.

"I wanted to drop you a note and thank you for putting together the information on the Cooperstown Dreams Park. 

This is my first trip to Cooperstown that also coincides with my first job coaching at the 12U level after several years as a high school coach. 

I coach in a VERY wealthy east coast town where the talent does not always rise to the level of the parents expectations or perceptions. The expectations are high, because there is a misunderstanding that money spent should correlate to success on the field. 

I gained most of my coaching experience at a low-income high school within an impoverished town. Getting a well-paying baseball job was both a blessing and a curse. The money is good, but the talent isn't quite there in this town. The facilities are great, but the parents are very demanding.

When I coached high school, we were lucky to have one or two parents that came to every game. The parents for team I currently coach are hyper-involved. They not only do they come to every game and practice, but they also send emails and call regularly.  

Your comprehensive Cooperstown Dreams Park guide will practically ensure me a fantastic, well-prepared trip. This is very important, because if I'm NOT going to win many games, I have to be exceedingly organized and prepared in order to retain my employment. 

After I stumbled upon the Cooperstown information on your blog, I began reading some of the stuff on the rest of the site. I really enjoy reading the perspective of a pragmatic, involved parent who is sympathetic to the view point of a coach who is often placed in precarious situations. 

I look forward to reading more. Let me know if you ever need the opinion of a young, lower middle class paid coach in a very upper class town."

The Main Point

1. Un-involved parents make me sad.
2. Over-involved parents, the ones who complain to coaches all the time, make me mad.
3. Parent coaches often turn out bad.
4. My son's very talented team just that broke up because of points 2 and 3, so a paid coach without any family ties is what I wish my son's previous team had.

I am not sure rich or poor matters when it comes to youth sports parents. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly from both.

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball Gets an F

How did the Nations Baseball World Series held in Pensacola, FL rate compared to other national tournaments?

Here is my report card on Nations Baseball U14 World Series Championship held in Pensacola, FL during the week of July 11 - 15, 2012.

My son has competed in the CABA World Series (U10 - Indianapolis, Indiana), the AAU National Championships (U11 - ESPN Disney Wide World of Sports, Orlando, Florida), Cooperstown Dreams Park (U12 - Cooperstown, NY), the Nations Baseball Premier National Championship (U13 - Gulfport, MS) and Nations Baseball World Series (U14 - Pensacola, FL). It is from this broad base of experience that I feel qualified to grade these events in comparison to each other.

Opening Ceremonies: The Nations Baseball World Series had an opening ceremony on Pensacola Beach the Wednesday before the start of action on Thursday. Our team did not participate for several reasons. 1) Many of the families stayed on Perdido Key far from Pensacola Beach. Few were motivated to get back into a car after recently driving 11 hours, 2) the 14 year old boys were not excited about the event, they wanted to stay on the beach instead and 3) There were only 4 teams in the tournament. What is festive and fun about that?

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade B
• CABA - Grade F (I don't remember any opening ceremonies)
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade A (Disney performers entertained the players, siblings, parents and coaches.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - Grade A (It was a bit long, but it was a festive start)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade NA

The Skills Competition: The Nations Baseball World Series had a skills challenge on the schedule when the team signed up for the tournament, but it was canceled. I believe that they canceled it because there were only 4 teams in the tournament. 

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade B
• CABA - Grade B
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade F (I do not remember any skills competitions)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - Grade A (Exciting competitions played out in front of a packed stadium)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade F

The Fields: The Nations Baseball World Series was suppose to be held at University of West Florida, but was moved to Tate High School. We believe that the event was moved due to the lack of teams in the tournament. Only one field was needed for the entire tournament. 

Tate High School has a great field with a well manicured grass infield, a dirt mound, stadium seating and vast dimensions. The outfield grass was green, freshly cut and fast. The infield is made of a blood red dirt that looked great on the field, but terrible on soiled uniforms. The fences on the fields used for the U14 event were at least 9 feet high, 325 ft down the line and about 375 ft straight away. No home runs were hit during the tournament. 

We had a torrential rain Friday night and Saturday morning, the field was unable to recover quick enough to play any games on Saturday. This made Sunday was a long day of baseball. Fields at Cooperstown and Disney recover much more quickly. Luckily, our team was seeded #1 after pool play so we got bye on Sunday morning. 

Tate High School is where Don Sutton, Hall of Fame Pitcher, and Travis Fryman, Cleveland Indians third baseman, played ball. 

From a spectators standpoint, the Tate HS field had the qualities of a minor league stadium. There was ample seating behind home plate on concrete steps. The concrete was hard and absorbed the Florida sun, so it was hot. The stands did have a roof covering up some of the seats which did provide some protection after 11am.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS B+
• CABA - C+ multiple municipal fields of varying quality.
• AAU Disney Fields - A (Perfectly manicured fields configured identically. These fields can take on lots of rain and be playable in short order.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - A+ (20 perfectly manicured fields configured identically with reachable fences. These fields can take on more rain than the Disney fields and be playable faster.)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade B (One great field)

The Concession Stand: Tate High School had a typical HS concession stand. The food was ok, the drinks were cold, the service was friendly and the prices were very cheap.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade F
• CABA World Series - Grade B (Some venues were good, some not so good)
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade B - (Too expensive)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (Good food, big variety, honest prices)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade B

Game Schedule: The games were not too early, nor too late. That was good. The tournament could create a schedule like this because there were only 4 teams in the tournament. Still, Nations Baseball gets an overwhelming F. The tournament started on Thursday and ended Sunday. Why? Why not start Wednesday or Tuesday. Most of the house / condo rentals in Pensacola were Saturday to Saturday. Most of the families came down on the Saturday before the tournament started a full 5 days before the games began. Many families had to check out of their condos on Saturday morning and find a hotel room for Saturday night. The tournament did not schedule a rain out contingency day, so the Saturday games and the scheduled Sunday games were played on Sunday. A lower seeded team could have played 5 games on Sunday if it played out that way. That is unacceptable because it puts young arms at risk.

Furthermore, the World Series happened to be on the biggest weekend of the year for Pensacola. The second weekend of July is the Blue Angels Air Show weekend. It is the most crowded weekend and therefore the most expensive weekend of the year. Nations Baseball missed a great opportunity to use the Blue Angles Air Show as a draw to the tournament. No the short sighted folks at Nations scheduled games during the Air Show each day, so our families paid the extra rent to go to Pensacola on the best weekend of the year, but could not enjoy the show. (NOTE: Folks that stayed on the Pensacola Beach side did get to see the Blue Angels practice. We stayed on the Perdido Key side of Pensacola so we did not see anything.) 

Nations Baseball should start the tournament on Monday and end it on Thursday. If it rains, Nations would have Friday to make up the games. Families than will have an opportunity to see the Air Show on Friday, Saturday and can then drive home on Sunday. News alert for Nations Baseball. People need to get back to work to pay for the rather vast expense of a baseball tournament. The championship game for this tournament ended on Sunday at 7pm. Many families had to drive through the night to get to work. 

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade C
• CABA World Series - Grade B
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade B - (Many doubleheaders had large gaps of time between them)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (I am not sure how they coordinate all of the teams when it is not raining, but they manage the schedule beautifully when rain delays or cancels games too.)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade F

The Competition: Nations Baseball only attracted 4 total teams for the U14 tournament so they got an F. There were three very talented teams and one team that was rec level. Nations baseball was desperate for teams so they offered a local team a free entry. The local team had never played on 60/90 fields, so they took the free entry to prepare their kids for the upcoming season on the bigger fields.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade F
• CABA - Grade A (International teams from Puerto Rico and Panama made the event special)
• AAU Disney - Grade A  (Lots of quality teams competed in this event.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (Each week for 13 weeks every summer, 100 plus teams compete. There is a wide range of competitive levels competing in this event. The top teams typically prevail, but the mid-range teams can advance far.)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade F

Click Read More for Umpire, Competition Format, Destination, Website, Tournament Committee grades

Youth Soccer: How to Maintain Goalie Gloves

One of the worst smells in youth sports comes from soccer goalie gloves. Those small pair of gloves pack a powerful punch of aroma. They do not stink to the legendary smelly status of hockey equipment, but they can certainly make a car, locker, gym bag, garage, mudroom or bedroom smell petty bad.

Here are tips that I read about goalie gloves to improve performance of the gloves, help reduce the stink and prolong the life of the gloves.

1) Before each game and practice moisten the palm of the glove with water. The added moisture will make the glove more tactile and reduce the chances of cracking. It is also a good idea to moisten the palms again at the end of halftime.

2) After each game or practice allow the gloves to dry out completely in a well ventilated area to prevent dry rot. Opening the gloves helps dry out the gloves. One tip I read suggested putting the gloves over a discarded cardboard toilet paper towel roll. This will let the air flow into the glove to help dry the inside too and the cardboard will absorb some of the moisture. Do not put the gloves in a clothes drier, over a heating vent or in direct sunlight because quick drying can cause cracking.

3) Washing the gloves occasionally is recommended. Removing the dirt from the palm and fingers will increase the tactile performance of the glove and help prolong the life of the glove. Several of the goalie glove manufacturers sell mild, low foaming goalie glove wash. I have read that shampoo works just as well. Either way make sure you get the suds completely out. It is also recommended that you clean the velco strap by picking out the dirt and lint. After you clean the gloves, make sure that you allow them to dry out like in point 2.

4) Some goalies keep the little bag that the gloves came in. After the game or practice they put the gloves in the bag to keep the gloves away from dirty cleats, to keep the smelly gloves away from clothes and to keep the stench out of the car on the way home. When they get home, they take the gloves out and allow the gloves to dry out properly.

The Main Point

Following these procedures will prolong the life of the gloves, allow the gloves to work at peak performance and reduce the smell.

Will my daughter do any of this?

Maybe after the first game or practice.

Youth Soccer: Selecting Goalie Gloves

My daughter and I took our annual trip to the soccer specialty store to buy goalie gloves. This trip is  necessary every year because pre-teen girls grow out of gloves quickly, goalie gloves do not really last that long and old goalie gloves smell something awful.

My daughter is the full-time starting goalie for an outstanding U12 team. The team plays in a regional league and top tournaments. It's some serious soccer, so I wanted to get her some serious gloves. Before we went to the store, I learned the following about gloves.

Gloves are the single most important piece of equipment that a goalkeeper needs. Some rec level younger kids play without them, but serious goalies would never play do that.

So how do you select goalie gloves:

There are many factors to consider:

1) Level of play - How serious a goalie is your kid? If your kid is a full-time goalie playing against top talent, then invest in gloves that will protect him or her and give them the edge to make difficult saves. Spend between $50 to $150. If your kid is younger (U10 and under) or plays at a rec level or is a part-time goalie on a club team, find a decent pair of gloves for $20 to $30. I bought gloves at the lower end of the high quality spectrum for my U12 player.

2) Number of games - How many games will your kid be playing in the next year. The more expensive gloves will last longer than the cheaper gloves. So if your kid is playing 2-3 games per week year round, it might make more sense to purchase higher quality gloves. My daughter plays 60 games per year. I figured this warranted higher quality gloves.

3) Number of practices - If the team your kid plays on practices all the time and plays a lot of games, you might want to purchase high quality game gloves and lower quality practice gloves. My daughter will use her slightly worn and small gloves from last year for practice.

4) The size - Comfort is the most important factor. Find a glove that protects but does not restrict. Properly fitting gloves is key. Goalie gloves come in sizes 4 to 12. You can use trial and error to determine the correct size at a store, If you are buying on-line, you can measure the circumference of your palm just below the fingers, exclude your thumb. Add one 1" to the measurement and round up to the next whole number. That will give you your glove size. It is not a perfect system because some manufacturers gloves run small and others a little bigger. Regardless, goalkeeper gloves should be worn slightly big. The fingers should extend about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch over the tips of your fingers. My daughter bought size 7 gloves.


5) The Conditions - Gloves are made of various combinations of latex / foam / rubber. Some are made for all weather, some for wet weather and others for hard surface / turf. The softer gloves provide more grip and control but do not last as long. Less soft, more durable materials are for goalies who play on hard ground or turf. Note: the wet surface gloves are hot and slippery when used in dry weather. I also learned about under-glove gloves for keepers allergic to latex. My daughter selected an all weather glove. If she advances to HS or College, perhaps we would buy more than one pair of gloves so she can use the optimal glove for the conditions.


6) The Features - My daughter had her hand stepped on last year. She was not hurt, so she was convinced that the reinforced finger spines were the reason. She wanted gloves with finger spines again this year. Ventilation, range of motion, wrist closures, wrist protection options, color etc. are all personal preference features. My daughter did not like the color of the gloves she selected, but she chose comfort over color. 


7) The Comfort - The most important determining factor is comfort. That is why, I would rather purchase goalkeeper gloves in a specialty soccer store with a large selection. There are some great eretailer selling gloves if you like to shop on line - just make sure you pick a retailer with a customer-friendly return policy.


The Main Point


My daughter selected the Reusch Keon Plus Finger Support Goalkeeping glove. The cost was $54 + tax.

Youth Volleyball: Why are the girl's volleyball shorts so short? (Part 2)

On January 9th, 2011, in a post, I asked this question "Why are the girl's volleyball shorts so short?". That post is the second most visited post on my site almost every single day and now has over 33,000 pageviews. It is also the most commented on post on my site.

I asked the question after I saw daughter play her first parochial school 4th grade volleyball game. I wondered why the Catholic school would have such strict and modest uniform mandates for school, but allow shorts that Ke$ha might wear to the MTV awards show.

In that post, I determined that the short shorts are for fashion purposes only and have no competitive advantage. This point of view was argued by many volleyball players on my site, but I am still not buying it. If that were true, women basketball players and men volleyball players would wear them to.

Well here is more evidence. This year the NCAA debuted sand volleyball as a sport. Pepperdine was the inaugural champion after they beat Long Beach State in the 2012 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship.

Pepperdine played in loose fitting gym shorts against Long Beach State who donned bikini style shorts. Watch Pepperdine dominate Long Beach State in this video.

The Main Point

I am not arguing for or against short shorts for college volleyball. Volleyball is a great game with or without the short shorts.  I am simply saying that Spandex short shorts do not provide a competitive advantage for volleyball inside a gym or out on a beach.

Gulf Coast Nations Baseball U14 World Series Review and Tips (Part 1)

When you are looking for a baseball tournament for your team you need to do your homework. Not all tournaments deliver the same experience or competition.

My son's travel baseball team was suppose to play in the CABA World Series in Nashville, Tennessee this week. Unfortunately, several of the players on the team had football conflicts, so the team decided to go to the Nations Baseball U14 Elite World Series in Penscola, Florida instead. The Nations tournament was scheduled one week earlier than the CABA World Series.

Last year the team competed in the U13 Nations Baseball Premiere World Series in Gulfport, Mississippi. I provided tips, tricks and commentary for that event in these posts called Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship. This was what I summarized about that 2011 tournament:

"The first ever Premier National Tournament was a great experience for my son, but it is not an premier event quite yet. I do have faith that Nations baseball will eventually get it right. This year (2011) they got the baseball facility right and the host city (Gulfport Mississippi) is great. They just need to attract more and better teams to justify the "National Championship" status."

So fast-forward to 2012. Did Nations Baseball listen?

The 2012 U14 CABA World Series, which dubs itself "the greatest show on dirt", attracted 31 teams from 15 States. In contrast, the Nations Baseball Tournament attracted 4 teams from 3 states. There were three very strong baseball teams competing in the event and one local team that got run ruled in every game. The local team had players on the team who had never played on a 90 foot diamond before. They were a nice bunch of kids, but they were totally out classed. I talked to one of the moms from that team who told me that Nations gave them a free spot so they took it for the experience of playing on the bigger fields.

The so called "World Series" was literally a round robin tournament between 3 teams. Not three teams from US, Japan and the Dominican Republic - no - three teams from Florida, Texas and Ohio. It turned out to be fantastic baseball with some outstanding pitching on a really cool field, but it did not live up to World Series or National Championship status again.

The Main Point

Last year, I had faith that Nations Baseball would eventually get it right. I lost that faith after hearing what the Nations Baseball Tournament Director had to say.

Here are the details of my conversation:

Ten families from Ohio each spent about $1700 on lodging, $500 in food and $340 in gas to participate in a tournament. The team paid a $700 tournament fee. The team spent about $26,000 in total to participate in the event. This is a lot of money for strapped families in this economy.

When we got to the stadium where the event was being held, Nations Baseball wanted another $25 per person for an entry fee ($7 per day per person or $25 for a 4 day event pass). My wife, my daughter and I went to the stadium to watch the action, so we were charged $75 to watch this four team - poor excuse for a tournament.

Gate fees are common at these tournaments, but you would think that because it was so poorly run they would give us a break. Many complained, so Nations made 8 and under free. My daughter is 11, so I paid the $75.

Several parents from our team approached the Nations Tournament Director to express their disappointment regarding the entry fee and the quality of the tournament that was promoted as a "World Series". First of all, the team felt lied to. One week prior to the event, Nations communicated that 6 teams were paid and two more would be confirmed before the event. Eight teams does not make a "World Series, but it is better than three elite teams and a rec team. He told the group that he could not help it that two teams backed out at the last minute to play in the USSSA tournament 16 miles away in Orange Beach Alabama. Upon hearing that, one of the parents concluded that it makes even more sense that Nations not charge us to get into this event since Nations collected money from teams not here and umpire expenses with fewer games played would be lower. The Nations representative said that he refunded the money to the teams that backed out.

What $#!@$#? - there is no penalty for pulling out of a tournament at the last minute. That is a big problem.

The Tournament Director then whined to the group that he has to charge the entry fee because the tournament has lots of expenses. The tournament consisted 5 age groups. There were tournaments for 6U (4 teams), 10U (6 teams), 11U (4 teams), 13U (6 teams) and 14U (4 teams) in the event. Each tournament had 12 slots available, so each and every age group had trouble attracting teams. This clearly suggests that Nations Baseball is having trouble competing in a very competitive category against CABA, USSSA and Ripken, etc.

I paid entry fee money and went into the stadium. Several of the parents refused to pay and just watched through the outfield fence.

I was up close to the action when my son's team won the event. It was not a hollow victory because the two other strong teams made the tournament very competitive, but we are not running around calling ourselves World Champs or even National Champs.

Finally, Pensacola is a great place for a tournament. In the next couple of posts, I will provide tips for baseball families regarding lodging, eating and having fun in the Pensacola area.

Youth Baseball: Are Private Lessons Worth the Money?

Are private lessons for pitching, hitting or fielding really worth the money?


When I was a young baseball player, my dad taught me how to hit, pitch and field. In the 70's, there was no thought about private training for baseball. My dad played baseball in college, so he was more knowledgeable that most dads. Still, he was not a technically sound instructor.


Kids of today, those filled with real potential and not, are turning to private instruction to get ahead or to simply keep up.


Jayson Stark, one of my favorite sports writers wrote a great piece on ESPN called The Age of the Pitcher - I found this section of the long post about the increase in number of hard-throwing pitchers most interesting.


In 2007, 11 pitchers averaged 95 miles per hour, in 2011, that number tripled to 35. How did this happen?


Jayson and baseball experts have the following theory. 

Think about that for a moment. Can that really be true -- that the number of smokeballers blowing 95 mph and up has tripled in five years? Even other pitchers have a hard time comprehending that phenomenon.

"I've never seen as many hard throwers on every single team as I do now," says Derek Lowe. "It seems like every team has three or four guys coming out of that bullpen throwing 95 miles an hour."

"When I first started doing this 25 years ago, if you saw a kid touch 90 (mph) at 17 years old, you were like, 'Oh my God,'" says the Indians' vice president of scouting operations, John Mirabelli. "That guy became an automatic prospect. Now, just about every guy (on a scouting director's radar) throws 90, and most of them throw 92. And you never saw amateur guys throwing in the upper 90s. Now you see it all the time. It's unbelievable."

But this word of caution: We can't be totally sure if those numbers are accurate. They might tell us more about how we measure velocity now than about the pitchers we're measuring. So we went about this another way: We asked scouting directors what they see when they show up at high school and college games.

Other scouting directors spun the same tales, over and over. And that tells us something: This is NOT a mirage.

So where is that velocity coming from? The theories go like this:

• More long-tossing to build up arm strength. 
• More and more kids seeking out personal pitching coaches, most of whom once played professional baseball, who are passing along advancements in throwing programs and better mechanics. 
• An explosion in the use of personal trainers, even by teenagers.
• Less abuse of young arms by coaches, thanks to new rules, pitch counts and workload limits.

The Main Point


When you combine talent, desire and proper instruction good results will follow no matter what you are doing, but it does not necessarily mean that your kid will advance. Spend your money on private lessons wisely and go into it with the proper perspective because chances of playing in college or the pros is remote at best. 


To me private lessons teach my kids one thing - if you want to advance at anything, be it sports or school or business, don't be afraid to ask experts for guidance. 

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.